


Depend On Me

by Chajingjing



Category: N/A - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Serial Killers, Detective Hongbin, Detective Ravi, F/M, Gen, Journalist Ken, Leo as OC/Reader's older brother, Read TW in summary and chapter notes just in case please!, Serial Killer!Hakyeon, Serial Killer!N, Sort of a reader-insert but I had to give her a name, Stockholm Syndrome, Vixx AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-17 01:10:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 40,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14822370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chajingjing/pseuds/Chajingjing
Summary: Sort of a 'Reader-Insert' (female) if you'd like to read it that way, I've left the OC's description vague.Six months ago Jung Yoojin was kidnapped. Just when she’d all but given up hope, one of her captors is killed right before her eyes by the decade’s most notorious serial killer, ‘N.’ As he rescues her from the particular hell she’d found herself in, they form a strange relationship together fueled by her slowly blooming desire for revenge. However, Yoojin’s eldest brother, Jung Taekwoon, has never stopped looking for her, and by the time he finally finds her will he need to save her from ‘N,’ or from herself?Hakyeon centric but features a pretty decent amount of Wonshik and Hongbin as Homicide Dept. detectives, Taekwoon as OC/Reader’s older brother, Jaehwan as a nosy reporter, and Hyuk as Hakyeon’s assistant.Warnings for: Stockholm Syndrome, one or two mentions of past rape/abuse, mentions of blood and violence obviously. Brief sexual content. Nothing overly graphic though; I just wanted to list anything touchy just in case. If it matters to anyone, Hakyeon/N is a serial killer who primarily preys upon other criminals.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I keep getting conflicted about posting this... I did once before but got paranoid and deleted it, haha. Sorry about that. I have worked on it a bit more though, so I think I'm ready to try again.. Hakyeon's Lost Fantasia solo is just killing me and I can't stop writing...
> 
> I know the warnings are going to make this sound really messed up, and it might be a little bit, but I don't plan on being too graphic if you understand what I mean. I WILL post specific TWs on the notes before each chapter :)... Primary warning I guess is just Stockholm Syndrome. But I wanted to list everything just to be safe.
> 
> As always this is a work of fiction and is by no means meant to represent the actual personalities or habits of VIXX. This will also most likely portray less than healthy relationship habits so yes again... it's fiction.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading, and please, if you enjoy it leave a kudo or comment-- I know OCs and het in general is not the mooost popular in these tags so I appreciate it! <3 You can also find me on twitter at @chajingjing <33

 

**Prologue**

 

 

 

Jung Yoojin opened her eyes. It was dark. Pitch black as always, save for the small line of dim light that ran down the center space between the steel shipping container’s heavy doors. She moaned and rubbed her aching temple, pushing dirty, matted hair back away from her forehead. Quiet despair, familiar now, began to seep forward from the back of her mind as she gingerly touched her left eye. The swelling had gone down, but she felt nothing. A healed wound only left her with the opportunity of another the next time _they_ returned.

 

She wondered what time it was, no what _day_ it was, and how long she had, when a sudden noise from outside her makeshift prison startled her.

 

**_BAM._ **

 

The sound jolted her to full attention and she clamored back into one of the shipping container’s far corners, eyes wide in terror. She leaned back, steel rivets digging into her spine, as if trying to melt into the wall itself. Her breath hitched, panic constricting her lungs and sending her heart pounding out of her chest.

 

 

_He’s back, he’s back, he’s back--_

 

 

She closed her eyes and fought back a sob, waiting for the doors to open, waiting for rough hands grabbing her, throwing her down…

 

 

Instead, she heard a strange whimper. The voice that usually tormented her waking nightmares was pleading, _begging_.

 

 

 

“ _P-please… d-don’t do this… What d-do you want? I’ll fucking do--_ ”

 

“ **_Shut up_ **.”

 

 

 

A second, unfamiliar voice answered him, echoing sharply through the warehouse like a knife slicing through butter. Yoojin’s eyes flew open. The whimpering continued for a moment, before being drowned out by the sound of something unfolding. A shadow passed by in front of the shipping container doors, blocking the light momentarily as it passed. She could hear heavy footsteps crunching along the ground. Then, the unmistakable zipping of duct tape.

 

 

“ _No.. no.. NOOO--_ ”

 

 

Her captor’s voice was suddenly muffled, and she found herself crawling with shaky legs along the edge of her cell towards the doors. She was terrified, yet curious at the same time. The sound of the man who had taken _everything_ from her desperately sobbing giving her a courage she hadn’t felt in what seemed like an eternity. Careful to be as silent as possible, she knelt in front of the small crack of light, and looked outside.

 

A green tarp was lining the floor of the warehouse in front of her. Her captor was bound tightly, lying on his back wrapped in a thick, clear plastic sheet, struggling against the rope securing his arms and legs and moaning helplessly into the duct tape across his mouth. He was bleeding from a deep cut already along his jawline, the blood dripping down his neck and staining his collar. Another man was standing over him, dressed in a businesslike white dress shirt and simple black slacks underneath a thick, plastic apron. The cuffs of his shirt were rolled up, smattered lightly with blood, and pair of medical gloves covered his hands. His face was half covered in a trendy mask that covered his mouth and nose, but she could see dark eyes peering out from underneath his styled black hair as he looked down.

 

For a moment, he did nothing, just staring down at the man struggling at his feet, but Yoojin felt her heart begin to race again once more as he slowly stepped around the man, turned around, and grabbed a thick knife from the table behind him. His victim trashed against the rope and plastic binding him with renewed vigor. The man, unfazed, simply crouched down and hefted the knife in his hand, as if feeling it’s weight.

 

 

Then, he brought the knife up, wrapped his fingers slowly around it’s handle, one after another until they formed a tight grip, and slammed it down into her tormentor’s chest.

 

 

Blood pooled against the plastic, and Yoojin gasped loudly, scraping the palms of her hands as she scrambled backwards in reflex before regaining control and stifling her movements. She was quick, but was too late. She heard the man’s sharp intake of breath as he realized he wasn’t alone, his footsteps immediately coming closer, his shadow now in front of the cargo container. Her heart stopped in her chest as she heard him fumble with the door’s external latches.

 

 

_This is it. This is how it all finally ends..._

 

 

Panic enveloped her exhausted body completely, and she felt herself fading, her mind shutting off again in the name of desperate self preservation. The last thing she saw before her head hit the ground was light streaming around the killer’s dark silhouette as he opened the door and walked towards her.


	2. Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoojin awakes in an unfamiliar setting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading!! <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Mention of past abuse/rape  
> -Kidnapping

 

**Awake**

 

 

 

_ A plush pillow underneath her head, the smell of freshly clean sheets… _

 

 

Yoojin smiled as she stirred slowly awake, but kept her eyes closed, clinging to the last remnants of her dream. The impossible memories of her life  _ before _ . It was rare that her mind let anything other than pervasive nightmares visit her while she slept, so she treasured the moment before sighing deeply in resignation. Yet, when she opened her eyes, nothing changed. Instead of the claustrophobic darkness of a steel shipping container she was staring up at a white ceiling, head propped underneath a large pillow, the soft touch of linen underneath her fingertips. Sunlight filtered in through a series of small windows rectangular above her. The air wasn’t dank and stifling, but cool and comfortable, with the faint scent of floral fabric softener. She began to furrow her brow in confusion when suddenly it all came rushing back: the begging, the pleading, the knife, the  _ blood… _

 

 

“You're awake.”

 

 

She shot up in the bed, wild-eyed, and clutched the quilt around her up against her chest. At first glance, it seemed she was in a basement, but it was furnished as a small, but cozy guest room. The walls were painted sky blue, with a matching, circular rug adorning the concrete floor. She lay on a double bed in one corner, and in the opposite corner, sitting in a large rocking chair next to a wooden dresser was the man who’d…  _ who'd _ \--

 

Panicking, her brain started to short circuit as it had in the cargo container. She closed her eyes tried to even the deep breaths wracking her body, feeling the sting of tears welling up behind her eyelids.

 

 

“Ssh. I'm not going to hurt you,” he spoke again, softer this time. She sobbed, tears running freely down her face now. The man waited patiently for several minutes until she slowly calmed and ventured to look up. 

 

 

Yoojin studied him through red, puffy eyes. He was sitting back with his legs crossed, dressed similarly to how she'd first seen him, a sharp businesslike outfit, minus the blood, gloves, mask, and apron. Now that she was able to see his face, he seemed to be in his late twenties, with high cheekbones and pleasantly tanned skin. His eyes looked back at her with a sort of curiosity, but were strangely vacant in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on. It sent a small shiver down her spine.

 

“What's your name? I'm Hakyeon,” he continued quietly, and stood up. He walked a few steps towards her and she flinched, but he merely leaned forward, holding out a red handkerchief while maintaining a respectful distance. She gave him a wary look, but reached forward and grabbed it from his hand. He backed up and slowly returned to the rocking chair as she wiped her nose and dried her cheeks. 

 

“Y-yoojin,” she answered finally. He smiled.

 

 

“Nice to meet you, Yoojin.”

 

 

She nodded and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. It was clean, freshly washed. She felt a hot blush spread across her face as she realized the normal grime that coated her arms and legs had been washed from her body as well, and she was wearing a fresh set of clothes, clean but a bit too big for her frame. Hakyeon seemed to notice her discomfort and looked down, shifting in his seat. 

 

 

“I’m sorry. You were in bad shape. You understand.” He said it as a statement rather than a question. Yoojin nodded again, wrapping her arms around her knees, hugging them against her chest.

 

 

They sat in silence for a moment, but when Yoojin looked up finally, Hakyeon was staring at her again. He was leaning back with his arms crossed against his chest, entire demeanour changed. The air seemed to thicken and she swallowed, throat suddenly dry. When he spoke his voice was low and sharp.

 

 

 

“You saw me.”

 

 

 

Yoojin found she couldn't tear her eyes from his gaze.

 

“Y-you killed t-that man…”

 

“Did he do this to you?” he asked, ignoring her accusatory tone and lifting a finger up to tap against his left eye. She mirrored the gesture, raising a hand to her own eye, still swollen and bruised, nodding mutely.

 

 

“Did he do...  _ more _ ?”

 

 

The subtext behind his question was obvious, and Yoojin was thankful he spared her the word itself.

 

“N-not him, b-but…”

 

 

“Others?”

 

 

She nodded and looked down at her knees, starting to feel a familiar numbness crawl over her, blocking out fragmented memories that threatened to bubble up from that place she kept locked deep, deep away in the darkest corner of her mind.

 

“Are you upset that I killed him? Should I have let him live?”

 

Yoojin snapped her eyes back up. Something strange stirred in her heart. That's right. After everything he'd put her through, the monster who had kidnapped her, beat her, sold her body to strangers was  _ dead _ . This man in front of her had killed him. He'd plunged a knife into his heart. He'd ended his  _ miserable, rotten existence _ . 

 

 

He could  _ never hurt her again. _

 

 

Hakyeon raised his chin, tilting his head, and raised an eyebrow. She realized he was still waiting for an answer. 

 

“No,” she said flatly, her voice stable and sure for the first time.

 

 

 

“Some people deserve to die.”

 

 

 

She felt that  _ something _ inside her bloom as she looked into his eyes. They were dark, dangerous. Piercing. But he was right. Some people  _ did _ deserve to die. She relaxed a bit, lowering her knees from her chest and crossing them indian-style in front of her. Hakyeon sensed the change in her mood and watched her as she smoothed the quilt over her knees. 

 

 

“I hope you understand though, I can't let you leave,” he continued after a moment, voice still low.

 

 

“A-are you going to kill me too?” Yoojin’s voice wavered again, and she could feel her shoulders begin to tremble. Hakyeon unfolded his arms and scratched his chin as if they were having a perfectly normal, everyday discussion about the weather, or traffic. Or what to order for dinner on a Saturday night.

 

 

“No. I’m not going to kill you. But for now, you have to stay here.”

 

 

His voice, mannerisms, everything about him exuded a tightly controlled authority, and as a result Yoojin believed him. He was tall, obviously much stronger than her; if he did want to kill her there was hardly anything she could do to stop him, so why would he lie? Yoojin looked up around the room with renewed interest. There were two doors, one a regular interior door along the wall in front of her and one, heavier, at the top of a staircase to her left. She assumed the interior door led to either another area of the basement or a bathroom. 

 

 

Another prison. A more comfortable, almost peasant prison, but a prison nonetheless. 

 

 

Standing, Hakyeon motioned towards the stack of books on the dresser next to him. “Feel free to make use of these. If they aren't to your taste I can bring more,” he said, and then suddenly looked her up and down, as if appraising her body. “What size are you?”

 

Yoojin thought for a moment. Truthfully, after months of being fed only when  _ they  _ felt generous, she'd shrunk to not more than skin and bones.

 

 

“I-I don't know…”

 

 

“I'll find you something,” Hakyeon answered matter of factly, and turned to leave.

 

“Wait-!” She said suddenly, almost jumping at the unexpected volume of her voice. Hakyeon turned around at the base of the stairs, placing a hand on the guardrail. Yoojin looked up at him with wide eyes that threatened tears once more.

 

 

 

“... _ Thank you _ .”


	3. Do You Want to Come Upstairs?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoojin starts to wonder more about the man who 'rescued' her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading... <3  
> I felt like having Hakyeon as a good cook would be good for his character... sorry if it seems odd!! T.T
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -None really. Just the usual already stated.

 

**"Do you want to come upstairs?"**

 

 

 

 

It only took a few days for Yoojin to settle into a comfortable routine with Hakyeon. He enjoyed waking up early, it seemed, as she could always start to hear the creaking of his footsteps above her head just before dawn. A while later he'd bring her something for breakfast, typically dressed in casual activewear, sweaty and hair mussed as he descended down the steps into the basement, plate of fruit in hand. Then he'd leave for a while as she ate, eventually returning, freshly showered, to grab her empty plate and bring her something carefully packaged up for lunch. It was almost always homemade, and while delicious, she could never finish much of it as her stomach was still unused to the rich ingredients and regular feeding. Before leaving for what she assumed was his workday, he'd always, without fail, bring her the daily newspaper and ask her if there was anything else she needed.

 

In the evening, after he returned home, he'd check on her again, retrieve her leftovers and disappear while he cooked dinner. Again, although she never finished it, he’d bring her a generous portion of whatever he was eating. Sometimes he stayed and ate with her, making small talk as he watched her politely pick at her plate. After he was satisfied she had tried to eat as much as she could, he'd leave her alone again for the evening until dropping off a large bottle of water just before heading to bed.

 

 

Yoojin found the routine soothing. Something stable and familiar she could latch onto.

 

 

Today was Friday however, her sixth day in the basement, and she was feeling apprehensive as she snacked on the rice Hakyeon had left her along with her lunch. Normally she spent the day reading one of the books or magazines he'd gave her, but the looming weekend occupied her mind. She sighed and walked from the bed to place the rest of her lunch on the dresser. Would he be at home all day? Footsteps creaking to-and-fro above her? It unnerved her when he was active in the evenings, being able to hear him just outside of her room reminding her of her time the cargo container. The more she thought about it she began to realize it wasn't even that she particularly wanted to _leave_. The basement was comfortable and safe. Like a shelter after a storm.

 

 

She just wanted to _see_ Hakyeon. Be near him when he was home.

 

 

Returning to the bed, Yoojin lay back, fiddling with the thin straps of one of the tank tops he'd brought her on her second day. It was rather plain, just a solid off-white in color, but it fit her well and was made of a soft cotton blend that caressed her skin. Her undergarments had been an entirely different issue. After bringing her two different bras that were almost _comical_ in how badly they fit her, he'd shown up the next day with a pair in every size ranging from practically mostly padding to something a porn star would fit comfortably in. Between that, his nonchalant attitude towards her wasting his food, and the quality of his own clothes, it was obvious Hakyeon was relatively well off, financially speaking.

 

She wondered what the rest of his house looked like, what he did for a living. He was clearly precise, neat and detailed oriented. A perfectionist. No doubt he could have his pick of careers that suited him, and excel at all of them.

 

Yawning, she pulled her quilt over her shoulders and imagined him as a doctor, high level CFO, or maybe a _restaurateur_. He was good with food after all. The image brought a smile to her face, and she sighed, closing her eyes and letting her mind wander aimlessly...

 

  


 * * *

 

 

**_Tap, tap_.**

 

The distinct sound of knuckles on wood woke Yoojin, and she opened her eyes to see Hakyeon knocking his free hand softly against the guardrail at the bottom of the basement stairs, holding her dinner on a tray with the other. She twisted her head to look up towards the windows behind her, surprised to see afternoon daylight already waning into evening. She must have drifted off. Sitting up, she straightened her top and brushed her hair from her face.

 

 

“It was getting cold,” Hakyeon said as he walked forward and placed the tray on the bottom of the bed. Yoojin crossed her legs, leaned forward and carefully placed the tray on top of her lap. Soup tonight, with a side of plain rice as usual to help settle her stomach. Hakyeon turned around to collect the remnants of her lunch from the dresser behind him and retreat upstairs, but stopped at the quiet voice behind him.

 

 

“Hakyeon.”

 

 

He turned his attention back towards Yoojin, tilting his head, and she felt suddenly encouraged.

 

“Hakyeon, can you stay?”

 

 

He nodded and pivoted towards his normal spot in the rocking chair on the dresser’s far side. Yoojin gently picked up the white spoon in front of her and dipped it into her soup as he sat down, fishing out a small piece of beef. It smelled good, and her stomach rumbled pleasantly in anticipation. Hakyeon watched her as she savored her meal, still careful not to force too much at once.

 

 

“You're hungry tonight.”

 

“Mmn. It's good.”

 

 

She paused between bites and looked at him, leaning back lazily in his rocking chair, his head propped up in his right hand. He was still wearing what he'd gone to work in this morning, his typical white button up underneath black suspenders, but his sleeves were shoved up around his elbows.

 

 

“Hakyeon, how do know how to cook so well?”

 

He perked up, lifting his head from his hand. “Practice.”

 

“Really, that's it?”

 

He gave her an amused look. “Really.”

 

 

“Hakyeon,” she continued, placing her spoon down.

 

 

“Can you teach me sometime?”

 

 

Hakyeon held her gaze, unblinking, and she felt the same change that had come over him when she'd first met him properly in this very room return. He grasped his hands together in front of his chest, elbows propped up against the chairs armrests, and brought one of his ankles up to rest on his knee.

 

“Do you have a family, Yoojin?”

 

She balked at the change of subject, and tapped a finger nervously against her dinner tray. It had been a long time since she thought about… her old life. The people she used to know. The people she felt certain would be shocked, appalled, _disgusted_ at the nervous shadow of her previous self she'd become. She suddenly wanted to throw her dinner off of her lap, tray, food and all, and curl up underneath a heavy blanket, but Hakyeon's sharp gaze held her still.

 

 

“Maybe, somewhere…” she ventured, a compromise between her conflicting thoughts.

 

“Do you want to see them?”

 

 

“No.”

 

He didn't respond, but Yoojin felt his eyes studying her. Stripping away her layers and peeking into her soul. He'd already seen her at her most feral, basic self. The broken girl in the shipping container. It would be pointless to lie to him.

 

 

“What _do_ you want?” he said finally, voice quiet but firm.

 

 

“I-I want to stay. Here. _With you_.”

 

He put his right foot back on the ground and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs.

 

 

“Yoojin.”

 

“Y-yes?”

 

 

 

“ _Do you want to come upstairs?_ ”

 


	4. 'N'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detectives Lee Hongbin and Kim Wonshik arrive at the scene of 'N''s latest victim, and find something unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing our detectives!! <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Blood, a corpse

 

**'N'**

 

 

 

“Heads up Kim, we got another one.”

 

Detective Lee Hongbin shoved his phone into his pocket and looked over at his partner. He was absorbed in a stack of paperwork, scribbling away, chewing on his tongue in concentration. Hongbin leaned across the corner of their conjoined, L-shaped desk and tapped a pen against the top of his computer monitor.

 

 

“ _Kim Wonshik!!_ ”

 

Wonshik took a moment to finish off one last hastily written signature, but then looked up, adjusting his thin, gold frames against the bridge of his nose as he peered up at his colleague. Hongbin gave him a disapproving look. It was an odd mix between a grimace and a smile.

 

“Come on, they found another body. We need to head out.”

 

“Alright, alright, I heard you,” Wonshik answered, deep voice grumbling. He closed the file in front of him and returned it to the top of a stack labeled _ASAP_. Grabbing his black and yellow ‘HOMICIDE’ emblazoned windbreaker from the back of his office chair, he slung it over his shoulder and followed his partner through the buzzing precinct main floor towards the garage exit.

 

 

“Geez… slow down Binnie, what’s the rush?”

 

 

Hongbin only kept his pace until they reached the elevators. He pressed the _Down_ button three times, forcefully, crossed his arms, and began to tap his right foot as he waited.

 

“It’s ‘ _N_.’”

 

Wonshik’s shoulders straightened and his eyes snapped upwards. Suddenly, Hongbin had his full attention.

 

 

“Where?”

 

“Some warehouse on the East side. They said something’s… _off_ about it, too.”

 

 

The elevator arrived with a _ding_ , and he followed Hongbin inside, scratching the side of his jaw where the faintest bit of stubble had started to grow. They were both silent on the way down, considering a welcome possibility. Had the man the media had taken to calling simply ‘ _N_ ,’ the most notorious serial killer of their decade, finally _made a mistake_ ? Wonshik tried not to embrace the rising hope in his chest. He and Hongbin had been chasing him for years, and although they’d been close partners - no _friends_ \- since graduating from the academy, the case had begun to wear on them both lately. Hongbin in particular was growing increasingly obsessed, frequently putting off their more routine cases and other duties in favor of pouring over N’s case file over and over again. Hoping they’d just somehow missed that _one key piece_ that would bring everything into clear view. As a result, Wonshik tried to pick up the slack, burying himself headfirst into the workload and thick stack of paperwork meant for both of them.

 

 

It was exhausting. They needed some luck, a break in the case. And soon.

 

 

When the elevator doors opened again, he clasped a hand on his partner's shoulder before they stepped out. The man flinched, jolted back out of his own thoughts by the touch.

 

“Hongbin. Stay objective,” he said quietly. Hongbin gave Wonshik a reassuring smile and nodded as they headed into the garage towards their department issued SUV.

 

  
  
  
  
* * *  


 

 

After a little over an hour, due to lingering rush hour traffic, they finally arrived at the roped off crime scene. Daylight was already waning, but the local precinct had set up a number of floodlights to illuminate their way. Wonshik surveyed the area as he stepped out and slammed the passenger side door back shut behind him.

 

The location, a private warehouse at the back of an all but deserted shipping district, was typical for N. Decently remote but still within city limits, neither nice enough nor decrepit enough to garner any special attention. If the victim turned out to be… someone of _lesser reputation_ as well, it would fit his MO perfectly. Hongbin already had his phone out, snapping photos of the warehouse’s exterior as he greeted the forensic team. Wonshik followed suit as he ducked inside.

 

The smell was about as bad as one would expect, but Wonshik still had to cover his mouth as his stomach flipped and twisted in his gut. Despite the plethora of crime scenes he'd visited over the past few years, it still, without fail, caught him by surprise. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it and, to be honest, he was quite okay with that. As he approached the body, he could see it was lying on its back, wrapped up in a large sheet of thick, clear plastic. Another feature of N’s kills, presumably to lessen the amount of blood he'd have to come in direct contact with. The rest of the warehouse was set up curiously, as if someone had been living, or at least spending an extended amount of time on the premises. A well-worn mattress was in the corner, complete with a pillow and stained, threadbare blanket. Used needles and empty liquor bottles lay underneath a lamp on the adjacent nightstand. Along the other side of the wall were a series of shipping containers.

 

 

Hongbin hovered nearby, talking to the crime scene photographer in an animated fashion. Wonshik walked over to join them.

 

 

“...you already got it? Okay, send that to me too. Send me all of it. _Everything_.” He turned around as he heard Wonshik approach, an excited look on his face.

 

 

“We're just in time. They're almost ready to unwrap the body.”

 

“Great,” Wonshik answered sarcastically and grimaced. “What's all the fuss about, though?”

 

 

His partner waved him towards the shipping container that was closest to the body, directly to its right. A few bloody footprints had been flagged by the evidence team, leading from the body right up to the container’s open doors and inside. They were faint, barely there, but _there_ nonetheless. It was the interior of the cargo container that seemed to capture Hongbin’s attention though, and after peering around the corner, Wonshik could see why. There was a thin cot along one side, as if someone had been living there too, although based on its condition and the general atmosphere he would guess not by choice. Careful not to disturb any of the evidence, he gingerly walked inside.

 

 

“There's blood in here too, Wonshik,” Hongbin motioned to markers by the cot and along the floor. “But it's not as fresh.”

 

 

Wonshik ran a hand through his hair.

 

“You think…”

 

 

“I think someone else was _here_ ,” Hongbin couldn't contain his theory any longer. “I think he was interrupted, that someone was in this container. Maybe someone hiding from him…? I don't know. We need to get this other blood analyzed. But someone was here, I _know_ it. And there's no second body…”

 

“A potential witness,” Wonshik finished his partners thought, and Hongbin nodded enthusiastically.

 

 

“ _Exactly_.”

 

 

He mulled the possibility over in his mind. N, from what they'd seen, was extraordinarily neat and careful not to leave any trace of himself behind, however he never hid or moved his victims, preferring to leave them on at the scene as if proud of what he'd done. They were almost always ex-convicts or someone who had seemingly slipped through the criminal justice system. It seemed unlikely that he'd change his routine… but what if someone _had_ seen him? Someone not part of his plan? The simple fact was, despite the nature of his victims, he was still a killer. A _prolific_ killer...

 

 

“ _We're ready_ \--”

 

 

A voice back outside of the shipping container interrupted his thoughts and he shook his head, walking to join Hongbin as he watched the forensic team and coroner gently unwrap the body wrapped in plastic, as carefully and respectfully as possible. Once it was done, both of their eyes fixated to one spot, the final confirmation of who, exactly, they were dealing with---

 

 

The deep ‘N’ carved into the body’s chest.


	5. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoojin goes upstairs, and realizes just who Hakyeon really is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My chapters seem to be getting just a little bit longer... T.T Also, I realize I have kept Yoojin a bit vague for the reader's benefit, but I do feel like I should say she is definitely over 18. As always, thank you for reading <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Nothing that hasn't already been stated..

 

**Stay**

 

 

 

When Yoojin climbed up the basement stairs, passing finally through the heavy door at the top as Hakyeon held it open for her, she found that his home was both exactly how she imagined it, yet totally different at the same time. She was in a short hallway, rich, hardwood flooring beneath her feet. On her left the hallway continued for only a few feet before widening slightly into a foyer. Two large windows bordered Hakyeon's elaborate front door, and she had no doubt that during the day the room practically glowed with natural lighting. As of now, however, it was dark. Shadowy.

 

On her right the same hallway opened up almost immediately into a large hybrid room, common living room on one side, and open kitchen on the other. They were separated by a modern style bartop, compete with three raised stools tucked neatly underneath the counter’s outer ledge. She turned this way, and started walking forward, eager to see more.

 

 

Hakyeon followed behind her, sharp eyes watching her every move.

 

 

The common area’s earthy tones and low evening lighting initially gave off a warm aura, but the room was so painstakingly neat and so obviously crafted to have this effect that it almost didn’t look lived in. Like a showcase at a furniture store. On the kitchen’s side, expensive steel appliances and a cool stone backsplash didn’t help much either. She ran her finger along the bar’s granite countertop as she looked around.

 

“ _Oh_ ,” she couldn’t help but exclaim as she noticed a large flat screen TV mounted against the wall on the opposite side of the kitchen. It was almost unnecessarily large, but it filled up the empty wall-space nicely, and she realized it was in the perfect position to be viewed from the kitchen as well. Everything was placed where it was for a specific reason. Efficient.

 

 

Hakyeon followed her line of sight from the end of the hallway and gestured towards the trio of remotes placed neatly on an end table next to his burgundy leather couch.

 

“I apologize I didn’t have more for you downstairs. Please, feel free to use it if you’d like.”

 

 

Yoojin turned around and smiled, shaking her head. “Oh, it’s okay,” she said, but moved towards the couch. She stood behind it awkwardly, and placed her hands along the cushions. Everything was so perfect, she felt strangely apprehensive, as if she were a bull in a china shop. Finally moving from the hallway, Hakyeon walked past her, around the couch and picked up the largest remote. He flicked the TV on, and looked back at Yoojin. She smiled, moved to join him, and followed his lead as he took a seat on the couch. The TV was tuned into one of the major broadcasting station’s evening sitcoms, and Hakyeon turned up the volume to a more audible level before handing her the remote. She smiled shyly as she accepted it, pulling her legs up onto the couch as well, holding the remote gently in her lap.

 

The sitcom was nothing special, but pleasantly formulaic and Yoojin had never seen it before, so she held off on changing the channel. It looked fairly up to date, recent, and she wondered if it was new. Truthfully she hadn’t been kidnapped _that_ long ago, relatively speaking, but she still felt a strange disconnect with the show. A strange feeling she couldn’t quite grasp. Hakyeon sat next to her, legs crossed and elbow propped up on the couch’s armrest as he watched. He neither seemed too interested in the on-screen family’s shenanigans, nor specifically disinterested. As they sat in an oddly comfortable silence, Yoojin wondered briefly if maybe he’d already seen this episode before, but the thought of him watching anything like this on his own was flat-out _jarring_. She fought the sudden desire to laugh.

 

 

During a commercial break in the programming, Hakyeon stood and walked back around to the kitchen. She heard the clinking of ice against glass, and he returned with a small glass of an amber spirit for himself along with a larger cup of juice for her. She smelled it curiously.

 

“Mango,” Hakyeon said simply as he sat back down.

 

“Thank you.”

 

 

They watched another episode like this, Hakyeon sipping his drink while Yoojin gingerly sampled hers. It was too sweet for her taste, but it wasn’t _bad_. As the sitcom’s programming ended, Yoojin was just about to hand off the remote back to Hakyeon when the excited voice of a local newscaster and blaring theme music froze her limbs on the spot.

 

 

 

_“Tonight, on EVENING SPOTLIGHT: BREAKING NEWS of a body just discovered in the Eastern Warehouse district-- Possibly another victim of ‘N’? Lee Jaehwan has more at the scene--”_

 

 

 

Yoojin felt her breath catch in her throat as _the_ warehouse appeared on the screen. Although she had never seen the place she’d been held in from the outside, she _knew_. A sudden wave of nausea washed over her. The scene correspondent took over the broadcast, gesturing at the building behind him as he spoke rapidly into his mic, but most of his words were droned out in the pounding of Yoojin’s heart against her ears. A graphic of a red, bloody ‘N’ appeared in the broadcast’s corner, and the reporter moved along with the camera, panning left to bring two men wearing black and yellow police windbreakers into view. One of them seemed agitated, preoccupied, while the other, slightly taller and wearing glasses, did his best to fend off ‘Lee Jaehwan’ and his probing questions.

 

 

_“...No. No comment… Yes, if anyone has any information on this case they are welcome to phone into our tip line. No, I’m sorry, but we can’t release any more information at this time…”_

 

 

He finally waved off the reporters as his partner touched his arm lightly, guiding them both away from an increasingly excited Jaehwan as another news crew approached in the corner of the frame. Eyes wide she put two and two together, and turned to look at the man sitting next to her.

 

 

 

He hadn’t moved an inch, but his eyes were lasered onto the television with a cold intensity, watching the two detectives disappear offscreen. Then, he drained the rest of his drink and licked his lips.

 

_Hakyeon was ‘N’?_

 

 

 

Despite making perfect sense, the thought that the man who’d stabbed her captor and rescued her from her shipping container was the notorious N, a killer who had plagued the city for the past seven years, had never occurred to Yoojin. But then, _why would it_ ? On the news, before _the warehouse_ , she’d seen the reports on him: a ‘monster’ who murdered his victims ruthlessly, a ‘terrifying presence’ keeping the city on edge, a ‘demon deserving of the death sentence’ that ‘the police kept letting slip away’ over and over again…

 

 

But this man, _Hakyeon_ , had saved her. Fed her. Took care of her. He’d killed the _real_ monster, so he could never hurt her again.

 

 

Sensing her stare, Hakyeon finally ripped his eyes from the TV and looked back towards her. He noticed her trembling hands and reached over, gently prying the remote from her grasp before immediately shutting the TV off. Yoojin let the silence slowly start to wash away the panic and unwelcome memories rising in her mind, gripping her cup of juice with both hands now. Hakyeon watched her for a moment and then stood up.

 

 

 

“It’s getting late.”

 

 

 

Yoojin felt tears start to swim in her eyes. The fragile wall she’d been building in her mind, trying to block out _everything_ that had happened before waking up in the blue room, was crumbling rapidly. She didn’t want to remember, she didn’t want these images, the _pain_ , to return.

 

Hakyeon stepped towards her, and reached down to retrieve her half empty cup. She let him, and he strode into the kitchen to rinse it out in the sink and place it in the dishwasher before returning to stand between the couch and the hallway.

 

“Yoojin.”

 

His voice had a biting undercurrent to it as he spoke her name, and she looked up, rising slowly from the couch and wiping her eyes. She didn’t want to go back downstairs, and it wasn’t that she minded being there…

 

 

 

She just didn’t want to be _alone_.

 

 

 

“H-hakyeon,” she started softly, “Can I… stay here with you tonight?”

 

He didn’t say anything at first; the question seemed to surprise him. Shifting his weight once from his left foot to his right, she watched him as he mulled over her request. Then, finally, he nodded.

 

 

“Okay.”

 

 

He tilted his head and led her the other direction, past the kitchen and common area and around a corner hallway, nudging open his bedroom door. She entered slowly, and he reached in behind her to flip on the light.

 

“I’ll be right back,” he said before turning around and disappearing back around the corner.

 

While waiting, she looked around his room. It seemed more like him than the stiffness of his ‘warm’ living room. The king size bed was dressed in simple linen sheets underneath a deep red quilted comforter. Along the opposite side of the room was a matching black dresser and bookcase set, boxy and modern in style. A pair of glasses, small lamp, and two paperback books sat on his nightstand, certain pages dogeared to mark his place. The room smelled pleasant, and she could see the door to his adjacent bathroom slightly ajar to the bed’s right.

 

A knock on the door behind her announced Hakyeon’s return, and she saw he’d retrieved her toothbrush as well as the oversized t-shirt and shorts she preferred to sleep in. It occurred to her suddenly, watching him hold it out to her, that it was probably _his_ t-shirt in the first place, and the thought somehow warmed her. She smiled, and grabbed the clothes in one hand, toothbrush in the other.

 

 

“Use anything you need in the bathroom. I’ll just grab something to change into.”

 

 

Yoojin stood awkwardly in the center of the room as he rummaged around his dresser for another undershirt and flannel pants of his own before heading back towards the door. Then, she understood what he meant.

 

 

 

“Wait, Hakyeon…”

 

He turned around.

 

 

 

“What I meant was… can I stay _with_ you?”

 

He seemed to catch her meaning and paused.

 

“I just… _I just don’t want to be alone_ ,” she continued softly.

 

 

 

Hakyeon nodded after a moment of thought and walked back towards his dresser. He lay his sleepwear on the dresser’s counter and started over towards the bed, untucking the covers and readjusting the pillows.

 

 

“You can use the bathroom first.”

 

 

Yoojin smiled in relief and made her way into the bathroom. Without his presence, she somehow sensed she’d be plagued with nightmares until dawn. But having him near him, she felt so safe. Reassured. That not even the demons in her dreams, the ones _still out there_ , could get to her. She brushed her teeth, changed into her pajamas, and returned to climb into the side of bed opposite of the nightstand and glasses.  Hakyeon disappeared into the bathroom and she smoothed the sheets around her as she lay down. He returned after changing with a second comforter and started to reach towards the bedroom’s light switch, but stopped.

 

 

“Do you want the light on?”

 

 

She thought for a moment, and but shook her head.

 

“No, it’s okay…”

 

 

Hakyeon nodded, flipped of the switch, and then she felt him lay back on his side of the bed, on top of the sheets and comforter she was using, pulling the second comforter he’d brought around his frame instead. She sighed, eyes growing tired from her tears earlier, and buried her face in the pillows. They smelled like aftershave and shampoo.

 

 

“Goodnight, Hakyeon,” she murmured as she drifted off.

 

 

“...goodnight."


	6. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoojin wakes up the next morning; Wonshik and Hongbin find out more about the blood sample they collected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't originally planning on featuring Wonshik and Hongbin that much, but I'm enjoying writing them together so I guess expect to see a bit more of them than I had originally planned, haha. Maybe this won't end up being entirely Hakyeon centric after all. As always thanks for reading <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Nothing that hasn't already been stated.

**Morning**

  
  


 

Yoojin woke up curled around one of Hakyeon’s soft pillows. Light was already streaming through the bedroom windows, and she could sense the absence of Hakyeon’s presence before she even opened her eyes. Still, she had slept well last night, better than she had in ages, and stretched out her limbs luxuriously as she rolled around to see the time on Hakyeon’s alarm clock. 9:30 AM. No wonder his side of the bed was already cold. She felt a small embarrassment she'd slept in so long.

 

Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and smoothed back her hair. Hakyeon had neatly folded the comforter he'd used, placed it at the corner of the bed, and tucked in the sheets on his side back underneath his pillows. She smiled, swung her legs around to land on the cool hardwood floor, and got up to do the same. After smoothing the comforter one last time, she decided to forgo changing for the time being and headed for the door in her shirt and pajama shorts.

 

When she walked around the corner towards the kitchen, the smell of breakfast made her stomach startle awake with a grumble. Hakyeon was standing over the stove, familiar athletic attire hanging from his broad shoulders, hair mussed and still slightly sweaty from his workout. She noticed the half empty water bottle next to him and wondered vaguely if he ever took a day off, but decided that most likely, he wasn’t the type. Walking forward towards the bartop that divided the room, she cleared her throat nervously and he looked up.

 

 

“Yoojin.”

 

 

“Good morning,” she answered, and took a seat at one of the stools, unsure of what else to do.

 

“Breakfast is almost done,” he said, picking at the sizzling vegetables in a sautee pan on the burner in front of him with a pair of chopsticks. Satisfied, he cut off the heat, slid them onto a platter and turned around to place it gently on the counter in front of Yoojin. Then, he did the same with a bowl of fresh rice, _banchan_ , and a plate for both of them. She scooped a small amount onto her plate and thanked him. He ate standing up, on the other side of the counter.

 

 

After they both finished, Hakyeon packaged up the leftovers and placed them in the fridge.

 

 

“Lunch,” he said, and washed his hands off in the sink before moving to do the same with their dirty dishes. Yoojin nodded and fiddled with the edge of her shirt, swinging her feet back and forth underneath the stool as she watched him. He looked up when he was done, meeting her gaze, and she shot her eyes back down at her lap, embarrassed to have been staring.  He either didn't notice or thought nothing of it as he grabbed a towel out of a drawer next to the sink.

 

 

“Yoojin, I have to go out today,” he started again after a moment.

 

“Oh..”

 

 

He continued to keep his eyes on her, studying her as he dried off his hands. She could feel the weight of the question rolling through his mind.

 

 

“Don't worry, I won't go anywhere.”

 

He placed the towel on the counter.

 

“Don't answer the phone or open the door for anyone either,” he continued finally, and began to walk back towards his bedroom, free to shower and change now that Yoojin had woken up. She could sense the unspoken threat underlying his words as he left.

 

 

“I won't.”  
  


* * *

  


When Wonshik arrived at the station that morning, Hongbin was already there, pouring over almost the entirety of ‘N’’s case files strewn across his desk. He was still wearing the same wrinkled shirt and slacks as yesterday, and dark circles framed his tired eyes. Wonshik glanced at the numerous paper coffee cups scattered among the folders and notes.

 

 

“Hongbin, you should have gone home to get some rest.”

 

“ _Huh-?_ Oh, ‘morning Wonshik.”

 

 

His partner looked up only briefly before looking back down and closing up one file, only to open another. Wonshik sighed and slumped down into the chair on his side of the desk. It was useless to argue with him.

 

 

“We get the results on that blood yet?”

 

That got Hongbin to pause, and he looked up again, leaning back from his desk to see Wonshik more clearly around his computer monitor.

 

 

“Yeah, about an hour ago. But it went straight to Lieutenant Park.”

 

 

Wonshik swiveled around to look at their boss’s office door behind him. It was closed, but he could see Park Hyunjoo at her desk on the phone through the glass windows, looking slightly frazzled as well, running her fingers through her hair as she talked. It was to be expected; the entire precinct was always a bit high strung for a few days after one of N’s victims were found. Lt. Park, he assumed, bore the brunt of their inability to catch the killer. She was strong, a good leader for their team, but he didn’t envy her the politics that came along with that authority.

 

As if on cue, she looked up, and met Wonshik’s eyes. He gave her a wry smile and a nod in greeting. After speaking a few last words into the phone she hung up suddenly and rose from her seat, heading over to open her door.

 

 

“Kim, Lee!! My office,” she shouted over the muted buzz of activity on the precinct’s floor. A few heads looked up, but she motioned towards Wonshik and Hongbin specifically to clarify. Wonshik turned back to exchange a curious glance with Hongbin before they both stood up and headed in her direction. Wonshik murmured a small “... _good morning to you too_ …” as she held her door open for them. The comment earned him a scalding look, but she let it pass.

 

 

Once they were all in her office, she closed the door again and returned to her seat behind her desk.

 

 

“Detectives. First of all, I’d like to thank you for dedication to… the case involving the series of knife killings that has _once again_ popped up on our radar.”

 

Wonshik hid a smile at her phrasing. Their boss _hated_ calling the killer by the media’s nickname, repeatedly voicing her opinion every time the topic came up that it did nothing more but give him clout and notoriety. Next to him, he could feel Hongbin straighten up in pride at the praise. Lt. Park pursed her lips before continuing.

 

 

“We’ve IDed this latest victim this morning, and got your second blood sample back.”

 

“ _And?_ ” Hongbin couldn't help but interject leaning forward.

 

“The victim, this time, was a known human trafficker,” she waved her hand in a circle as she tried to remember the name. “Nam… Nam Chiwon. He was recently released for good behavior from Song Correctional Facility, about eight months ago. The blood sample pinged our missing persons database.”

 

 

Wonshik mulled over the information and rubbed his chin in thought. It made sense. As expected, N’s victim matched his MO, and someone else must have indeed been living, or rather kept in, the shipping container.

 

 

“We have a name?” Hongbin asked excitedly.

 

“Yes. Jung Yoojin. But-- as a department, we're keeping this confidential. I don't want… our perp to know that _we_ know. Just in case she's still alive.”

 

“Oh, she's still alive, N wouldn't kill _someone like that_ …” Hongbin muttered under his breath. Lt. Park frowned, but ignored him.

 

“Has the family been notified?” Wonshik spoke up.

 

“Yes, and they were… not happy about it. She's been missing for about six months. It's understandable, but unfortunately this is the best lead we've had on the case for years, as you know.”

 

“Mmm,” Wonshik nodded in agreement. A live witness, complete with a name and ID _was_ a great break. All they had to do was find her.

 

 

“Speaking of, I want you two on this case full time now. We _need_ to end this. I'll have Lee Dongyoung take over any other pending cases you're working on.”

 

 

Wonshik felt a sense of relief mixed with apprehension. Hongbin was visibly beaming next to him, finally free to throw himself further into his obsession with the case without consequence. Their Lieutenant was right. For his partner's sake, this needed to end.

 

A sudden rapping at the door startled the trio, and Lt. Park rose to answer the door. Dongyoung’s face came into view, visibly panicked.

 

 

“Ma’am, we have a sort of… situation…”

 

 

Following Lt. Park out onto the main floor, Wonshik saw a tall well-built man, perhaps only a little older than himself, being restrained by three junior detectives as he attempted to continue forward. He was yelling, barely intelligible over the noise of his struggling.

 

“ _...do you mean I can't see your boss?? I want to know why this isn't being publicised!! I'm going to the the media involved-- do you hear me?? You bastards haven't done ANYTHING to find her and now I find out she’s…_ ”

 

“What the _hell_ is this?” Lt. Park barked at Dongyoung. Wonshik watched as the man was finally subdued. He glared across the floor in their direction with narrow eyes, full of intensity. For a moment, he was thankful he was behind the four rows of desks and weathered office equipment between them.

 

 

“T-the brother, Ma’am,” Dongyoung stuttered.

 

 

“Jung Taekwoon.”

 


	7. I Want to Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonshik deals with an uncooperative Jung Taekwoon; Yoojin explores Hakyeon's house on her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a plot twist in this chapter that will come into play as I continue the story... Also, please note I'm no expert in policework or criminal justice, so I apologize for anything that's way off!! I also know I haven't introduced Jaehwan or Hyuk much (Hyuk at all), but they are coming up soon... I do have special plans for Hyuk though, so I don't want to rush him in too early. :) 
> 
> Thank you for reading as always <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Brief mention of past rape/abuse.

 

**"I Want to Help"**

 

 

“ _Well?_ ”

 

Wonshik tapped his pen against his notepad in irritation. A much calmer, yet still fuming Jung Taekwoon sat across from him, legs and arms crossed, piercing eyes boring into his own as he waited for an answer. He couldn’t help but turn and shoot an accusatory look towards Hongbin’s empty chair. Of _course_ his partner had convinced Lt. Park that this was the ‘ _perfect opportunity to find out more about their missing person_ ,’ and that ‘ _Wonshik can take a statement while I go request her file from Records, right?_ ’ He’d begrudgingly nodded, and walked over to introduce himself to the man as one of the detectives in charge of the case after it was apparent he’d settled down. However, screaming fit or no, he was anything _but_ cooperative.

 

 

“We’ve only just received this information this morning, sir,” Wonshik answered in the most diplomatic tone he could muster. Taekwoon didn’t seem impressed.

 

“She’s been missing for six months. _Six months_.”

 

“Sir, I’m aware of that, but here in Homicide we--”

 

 

The man sighed loudly, interrupting Wonshik. “I don’t _care_ about the specifics of your job, _sir_ ,” he replied with a mocking tone. “I want to know why this isn’t being broadcast on every major network-- why we’re being asked to _keep quiet_.” He started to raise his voice again, drawing the eye of Wonshik’s colleagues.

 

“Keep QUIET? My sister’s out there somewhere, probably at the mercy of that, _that MURDERER_ \--”

 

 

Wonshik raised his eyebrows and gave Taekwoon a sharp look in warning. The man _tsked_ to himself in irritation, but ultimately quieted back down, shifting in his seat. He felt for Taekwoon, he really did. It was one thing to deal with criminals and corpses daily as an outsider looking in, but to have a missing family member gone, completely without a trace, for that long? He could only begin to imagine how he’d feel in his place.

 

 

“Maybe you can tell me more about her. Defining features? Birthmarks? Scars?” he ventured, trying to steer the conversation in a more positive direction.

 

 

Taekwoon studied him for a moment, but obliged. Wonshik nodded as he described Yoojin as he’d last seen her, taking notes. Naturally this would most likely all be recorded in her missing persons report, but it would be good to compare with her file, once Hongbin returned with it. After a few follow up questions they finished up, and Wonshik escorted him out to the elevators. He handed him a business card as they waited.

 

 

“Here, call me if you think of anything else that might help.”

 

The man said nothing, but grabbed the card from his hand and shoved it into his back pocket before leaving.

 

 

Wonshik groaned and rubbed his neck, heading back to his desk. He wiggled his computer’s mouse as he sat down, stirring it out of sleep mode, and checked the clock.

 

10:30. It was only _10:30 AM_. He sighed, and started to check his email, when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Happy for the distraction, he leaned back, pulled it from his pocket and slid his finger across the lockscreen.

 

 

 **_< <Hakyeon-hyung:_ ** _Wonshik, I saw you on the news last night. Another body?_ **_> >_ **

 

 

He smiled. This was an unexpected surprise; he hadn’t heard from his old friend in a few weeks. They’d met when he was still a prosecutor, and Wonshik found himself assigned as the primary detective on a few of his cases. Even though he had a firm of his own now and they rarely met in court anymore, the two had kept in contact. He tapped his fingers rapidly against his phone’s screen as he replied.

 

 ** _< <Wonshik: _**_Yeah. Crazy bastard is at it again…_ _Going to be a busy few months._ ** _> >_**

 

 **_< <Hakyeon-hyung:_ ** _Too busy for lunch today? You can tell me all about it. My treat._ **_> >_ **

 

 **_< <Wonshik: _ ** _You’re on!_ **_> >_ **

 

“Who’s that?” Hongbin’s sudden voice behind him startled him as his partner dropped a box full of files on the corner of his desk. It seemed he’d grabbed more than just Jung Yoojin’s file from Records. Wonshik winced at the overwhelming amount of paperwork before answering.

 

“Cha Hakyeon.”

 

 

Hongbin grimaced. “You still keep in contact with that guy? He’s so… _odd_ ,” he said tactfully. Wonshik laughed and swiveled his chair around to face his partner.

 

 

“C’mon, he’s not that bad. We’re meeting for lunch… you should come too. I know you didn’t eat breakfast...”

 

“But--”

 

“Lee Hongbin. I _insist_. You need to get out of here, just for an hour or two. The files can wait.”

 

Hongbin sighed in defeat, and Wonshik grinned.

 

 

“ _Fine_.”

 

* * *

 

After Hakyeon showered, changed, and left for the afternoon, Yoojin found herself at odds with what to _do_ , now that she had the place to herself for the time being. It was strange, she’d been content with her books and magazines in the basement, and while she felt she _should_ be happy to have more space, it was quite frankly a bit overwhelming.

 

Slumping onto the couch, she turned on the TV and started to click through a few channels, finally settling on a sappy melodrama starring an actor she recognized. She vaguely remembered being absolutely in love with him when she was a teenager, almost to the point of embarrassment. Now, watching his painfully cliche character chase after the unsurprisingly standoffish female lead, the feeling felt so distant. What had she ever _seen_ in this crap anyway?

 

She managed to last through another episode, then an over-the-top adventure variety show, but eventually had to turn the TV off as midday shifted into a bright afternoon. Standing and placing the remote back in its place next to the others, she began to wander around the house aimlessly, eventually making her way towards the house’s back hallway. The door to Hakyeon’s bedroom was still ajar, but across from it was a closed door she hasn't noticed last night. Standing in front of the door, she thought for a moment. She was a guest in Hakyeon's home and it wasn't really her place to investigate, but she was bored. Curious. She wanted to find out more about him. Reaching slowly forward, she tried to twist the knob with delicate fingers.

 

 

It was unlocked.

 

She ignored the small warning in the back of her mind and pushed it open.

 

 

The room appeared to be a cozy study. An oak desk sat facing a large window, framing a pleasant view of the building’s small but well cared for back garden. Tall bookcases lined both sides of the room, covered in binders and thickly bound textbooks. She walked inside and ran her fingers along a row of them, reading the titles aloud to herself.

 

“ _‘Criminal Procedure: Theory and Practice, 5th Ed.’, ‘Essential Case Law of the 20th Century’, ‘Lee v. ISAF: A Study in Evidence’..._ ”

 

So _that’s_ what Hakyeon did for a living; he was an attorney. Smiling, she wandered to his desk, and the files stacked neatly on top of a large calendar pad confirmed her guess. She lifted a finger to carefully thumb through the manilla colored folders. They were robust, full of notes, articles and maps, but didn’t look entirely ‘official,’ labeled only with names and an occasional date. She kept going until first one, then a second caught her eye.

 

 

_Nam Chiwon. Jeon Sungwoo._

 

 

She stilled the tremble in her fingers and pulled them from the stack. Taking a deep breath she gathered all the courage she could muster, and looked closer.

 

Nam Chiwon’s file was exactly who she expected, and she closed it quickly upon seeing his face. Before her mind could rush into her usual panic, she noticed a small date written on the top left corner of the folder, something that grounded her. _05/12/2018_. Exactly one week ago; the day her nightmare finally ended. It calmed her and she felt almost a sense of pride as she held his folder in her hands. Jeon Sungwoo however… the name sent a chill down her spine, and she tentatively began to try to remember just where she’d heard it before. As if summoned, a slip of a memory began to filter up into the forefront of her consciousness.

 

 

“ _...Hey, Sungwoo! I got a new one for ‘ya today…_ ”

 

 

Eyes widening, she pushed the voice down, back behind her ‘wall.’ That’s right, Sungwoo was Chiwon’s partner. The one who hadn’t minded ‘sampling’ the merchandise. She’d seen his face only a few times, but she’d _never_ forget his voice. A smoker’s voice, it was deep, raspy, and sarcastic as he mocked her.

 

She felt her cheeks begin to burn in shame, and it made her _angry_ . She wished he’d been there too, the night that Hakyeon had ended Nam Chiwon. If anything, she wished he’d been there _instead_. Out of them all, he was the one who--

 

A noise behind her startled her, and she whirled around, knuckles white as they gripped the folder. Hakyeon stood in the doorway, shoulders looming as he stared her down. Her stomach flipped in surprise. She’d been so absorbed in her thoughts she hadn’t even heard him come home.

 

 

“What are you doing, Yoojin?”

 

“H-Hakyeon…”

 

 

“ _What are you doing in here?_ ” He asked again, voice dropping.

 

 

Yoojin stepped forward, ignoring the warning in his voice, and held out Sungwoo’s folder like an offering.

 

“There’s no date on this folder, Hakyeon,” she said, and his eyes flicked down, noticing the name written on it before they returned to her face. He didn’t say anything, so she continued forward until she was standing right in front of him, lookup up at him with pleading eyes.

 

 

“ _I want to help_.”

 

 


	8. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoojin regrets invading Hakyeon's privacy, and Hakyeon comes home drunk, showing another side of himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help but dress Hakyeon in the black suit with red handkerchief ensemble VIXX wore during that _one_ Scentist performance, haha. My apologies... Anyway, more on topic, I just wanted to say I know I have Hakyeon saying Yoojin's name a lot in the dialog for this series, but I'm trying to do it on purpose as a sort of 'dominance' factor? It's also part of the reason I didn't want to use the typical 'Y/N'. Yoojin of course mirrors this behavior in return. However, if it's not having the intended effect let me know and I'll tone it down.. T.T
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Sexual tension doesn't warrant a warning IMO, but this is a bit of a more PG-13 chapter I guess, haha.

 

**Touch**

 

“ _I want to help_.”

 

“... _Don't come in here again_.”

 

Yoojin played over the memory in her mind and pushed around her breakfast on her plate. She wasn't sure _how_ she'd expected Hakyeon to react, but she hadn't expected him to simply take the folder from her hand, place it neatly back in its place, usher her out of the office with a vice-like grip on her shoulder… and then, after that one simple order, seemingly ignore the entire incident altogether. He’d glowered about the house with a scowl on his face the entire rest of the day, hardly saying a word, and when Yoojin ventured to try the office door knob while he was in the shower the next morning she found it locked.

 

It made her feel pathetic, like a grounded teenager who'd had their phone confiscated for looking at a naughty website. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't a child, that she was _serious_ , but the particular darkness that had descended around him ever since he'd returned that afternoon kept her from bringing it up again. Briefly, she wondered where he'd gone anyway; maybe there was more to it than just finding her snooping through a bunch of files that didn't tell her anything she didn't already know.

 

She looked up at him as he finished his own breakfast in silence. It was Tuesday, and he was already dressed for work in a tailored, black suit ensemble, complete with a red handkerchief poking out of his chest pocket. A bit fancier than his usual office attire, it highlighted his long legs and trim frame perfectly in a way she couldn't help but appreciate. His hair was also styled fashionably down over his forehead, textured bangs just brushing over his dark eyebrows. As he ate, he seemed unusually rushed.

 

Suddenly she felt rather bad about the whole thing. He’d probably been stressed over whatever occasion had him so dressed up, and here she had been being nothing short of a total _brat_ for the past three days.

 

“Hakyeon,” she started quietly. He paused mid chew and looked up.

 

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

 

He swallowed, and looked at her curiously.

 

“You're sorry?”

 

 

“Yeah, you know, for going into your office on Saturday...” Yoojin gave him an apologetic smile and then looked down at her plate. Hakyeon thought for a moment, but then resumed his breakfast, nodding as he finished up.

 

“It's locked now,” he said matter-of-factually as he turned towards the sink. Yoojin jumped off of her stool and rounded the corner to intercept him, bringing her own dishes along as well. She put a hand on his forearm and smiled.

 

“I can take care of it.”

 

 

Hakyeon almost jumped at her touch, surprised. From the very beginning, after cleaning her up on the day he'd found her, he generally took great care not to intrude on her personal space. It was something Yoojin appreciated greatly, so the gesture was unexpected. He looked down at her hand, and then back to her face with an unreadable expression, but handed her his plate and utensils.

 

Stepping back out of the way, he began to adjust his shirt cuffs underneath his suit. After rinsing off their dishes and placing then neatly in the dishwasher, Yoojin turned back around just in time to see him straighten his tie as well.

 

 

“You look nice.”

 

 

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself, but they were true. Hakyeon paused, then looked at her again.

 

 

“...Thank you.”

 

 

He smoothed the front of his suit and grabbed his keys, phone and wallet from the edge of the counter before continuing.

 

“I’ll be late tonight. Business dinner.”

 

Yoojin dried her hands off with a towel.

 

 

“Oh.. Okay.”

 

 

“There's leftover takeout from last night for you in the refrigerator,” he added. “Help yourself to as much as you want.”

 

She nodded, and satisfied, he left.

 

 

*** * ***

 

The day passed as usual, Yoojin flipping through channels, browsing the newspaper, and doodling in a small notebook. She took a long bath as afternoon turned to an overcast evening, and borrowed Hakyeon's hair dryer to style her hair. She struggled with it for a few minutes, before her fingers slowly remembered her old routine. After she was done, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She hardly recognized herself. Sure, her black eye, along with a few other cuts and bruises had healed, but when had her hair gotten so long? When had her features gotten so sharp? Her eyes so _haunted_?

 

She shrugged, and looked along the bathroom counter for a moment, realizing she'd left her clean clothes downstairs. Wrapping a towel back around her body she walked towards Hakyeon's closet instead. Smiling absentmindedly she ran her fingers along a row of his favorite plain, white button ups. They were soft, and smelled like his aftershave, soothing and familiar. On a whim, she grabbed one from the hangars and put it on. She pulled the fabric around her waist and laughed at how her fingers only barely peeked out from its sleeves. Tossing her towel onto the steel rack next to the tub, she skipped out to retrieve fresh undergarments and her pajama shorts.

 

Finally clothed, relaxed, and feeling oddly at peace, she walked back up to the common room and lay back on the couch, grabbing the book she was almost done with from the coffee table along the way. It was a fantasy thriller. Predictable, but interesting enough that she still wanted to see how it ended. Before she knew it, hours passed and the sun had set. She sighed, eyes straining, but when she stood to turn on an additional light she heard the front door clicking open.

 

She perked up and walked around the other side of the couch as Hakyeon entered. His suit jacket was off, draped around one arm, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up around his elbows. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar as he walked down the hall, a bit unevenly. Yoojin could see a light flush across his cheeks, the telltale sign of a number drinks imbibed with dinner. His aura was dark, and even though he'd just arrived back home he already seemed to suffocate the entire building with his presence.

 

 

“Hakyeon,” she said, and he looked up, stopping in his tracks as he noticed her appearance. Yoojin blushed, suddenly remembering she was still wearing his shirt.

 

“Yoojin.”

 

 

He walked forward with wide, lazy steps, tilting his head and tossing his suit jacket from his arm to the couch as he passed. Finally, he stopped in front of her, just inches from her chest. Much closer than normal. She could smell faintly the alcohol on his breath.

 

 

“Yoojin…” he continued again, and reached up to touch the collar of his shirt that lay against her collarbone. His voice was soft, but had that certain _edge_ to it that appeared whenever he wanted to demand her undivided attention.

 

“Why are you still here, Yoojin. Why don't you try to run from me…?”

 

 

Her heart hammered in her chest every time he said her name. She was in awe of this raw side of him, her legs frozen in place by his heavy gaze. It was true, she was like a lamb in the lion’s den, but she wouldn't have moved even if she could.

 

 

“Y-you saved me, Hakyeon,” she said quietly. “I owe you my life, my… my _everything_.”

 

Hakyeon's lips twitched and he raised his chin to look down at her further. The answer seemed to please him in a way she hadn't expected as something _else_ washed across his eyes. He raised his fingers from her collar to her chin and brushed them against her jawline.

 

 

“You're not _scared_ of me?”

 

 

She shook her head. He looked slightly amused but accepted her answer.

 

“...Do you really want to help me… end _that man_? Do you even realize what that means?” he asked, referencing the file from his office.

 

Yoojin swallowed nervously, refusing to break eye contact.

 

 

“Please, Hakyeon, I-I’ll do anything…I just… _I want him to suffer_ ,” she whispered.

 

 

“Follow me,” he demanded, letting his hand drop from her face. He led her towards the office and dug his keys from his pocket, fumbling for a moment before unlocking and opening the door. Yoojin followed a few steps behind him as he entered and walked towards his desk, switching on the lamp at its corner. The faint orange light gave the room an eerie aura.

 

Kneeling down in front of the desk, he unlocked the bottom-most drawer on the right side and pulled out a wrap of brown leather. As he stood again and placed it on top of the desk she could see that it was a knife roll, secured with two silver clasps. He clipped it open, and unrolled the fabric. She stepped closer, interested. Three large knives of varying size lay safely secured in their place, along with a few other tools. Hakyeon carefully removed the largest one from its pocket and removed the plastic safety guard over it. Then, he turned around.

 

 

“Come here.”

 

 

Yoojin walked forward. He held out the knife, handle first in front of her, but she hesitated. Unsure.

 

 

“ _Take it_ , Yoojin.”

 

 

She obeyed, reaching forward and gently grabbing the steel handle. It was cool, the weight against her palm more than she would have expected. She held it awkwardly with both hands.

 

“It’s heavy, isn’t it?”

 

 

Yoojin nodded, and attempting to adjust her grip, almost dropped it. Hakyeon clicked his tongue in annoyance and moved to stand behind her.

 

“You’re holding it wrong.”

 

He leaned over her, chest against her back, and snaked his arms forward so they were over hers. Guiding her hands with his own, he wrapped her fingers around the knife’s handle in a firm grip, so that tip pointing straight down towards the ground. Blade towards them.

 

 

“ _Like this_ ,” he said, lips against her ear. “...Do you know how many times I’ve stood over someone like this? Wrapped up like a holiday present, just for me...  eyes wide, begging, _unbelieving_?”

 

She shook her head, and he didn’t answer.

 

“Do you really think you could do the same, Yoojin?”

 

 

At first she’d felt her will start to falter, but when Hakyeon whispered her name into her ear, his words seemed to have the opposite of their intended effect. She didn’t feel rattled or frightened; she felt emboldened, on _fire_ , with his broad chest against her back, his strong arms wrapped around hers, his soft breath against her cheek. She imagined that Jeon Sungwoo was underneath her, that Hakyeon’s sure hands were guiding hers as the knife descended down, down, _down…_

 

 

“ _Yes_.”

 

 

She spoke suddenly. Definitively. Her voice sure and steady. She heard Hakyeon’s sudden intake of breath against her cheek before he stood back up and let go of her hands. Yoojin slowly turned around to face him and carefully handed him back the knife. He looked at the new fire in her eyes with genuine surprise, and said nothing for a few moments.

 

 

Then, he laughed.

 

 

It was a soft laugh, by no means loud, but the sound made Yoojin jump. He turned around, gently wiped both of their fingerprints from the knife’s handle, and placed it back into its pocket before wrapping up the leather roll again. Dropping the bundle back into his desk drawer, he locked everything back up and ushered them both from the room. When they were back in the hallway, he started to head into his bedroom, but stopped and gave her an odd smile over his shoulder.

 

 

“...It seems I’ve underestimated you, Jung Yoojin.”

 

 


	9. Jackpot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Jaehwan, desperate for a good news story, receives an interesting tip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost caught up to where I'd left off when I was originally writing this so updates might be a bit slower... but then again I'm on summer vacation from Uni so who knows, haha!! Thank you to the comments and kudos left on this story... I really appreciate it and love you all <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -None

 

**Jackpot**

  


 

“ _...This is Lee Jaehwan, for EVENING SPOTLIGHT, signing off_.”

 

He nodded his head once and stared forward, a well practiced smile still plastered on his face for a few more seconds until Sungmin lowered the camera from his shoulder and gave him an ‘ok’ sign with his thumb and index finger.

 

 

“Alright Jaehwan, we’re clear. Good job.”

 

 

Jaehwan rolled his eyes and headed straight for the news van parked behind him, tossing his mic onto the backseat through the open sliding door. He looked up at the gathering clouds and turned to help his cameraman pack up the rest of their equipment.

 

“Good job? Seriously? It was a story on _crop circles_ for god’s sake. We all know it’s some teenage hoaxsters; this isn’t _news_.” He sighed in frustration. “We should be doing a follow up piece on that body from the warehouse...”

 

His colleague grunted in vague agreement, carefully spooling AV cords around his arm, but shrugged. “No new information to go on, man. The cops are being tight-lipped about it this time. Not even Doyun could get anything from his ‘contacts.’”

 

Jaehwan frowned, and turned around after hoisting a large black audio case into the van. He ran a finger across one of his eyebrows before crossing his arms across his chest.

 

 

“Isn’t that newsworthy _itself_ though?” he dogged at Sungmin’s heels while he finished gathering up a few odds and ends.  “Think about it-- that district is a cesspool of crime. That’s no surprise; we all know it. It _had_ to be ‘N.’”

 

Sungmin nodded politely as Jaehwan trailed behind him, talking increasingly loudly over his shoulder.

 

 

“I mean, every _other_ time one of N’s victims are found they’re feeding out as much information as they can. Press releases, follow up interviews with Park, the works. But _this_ time…”

 

Jaehwan shook his head.

 

 

“Something’s different.”

 

 

“Yeah, maybe..” his colleague answered dryly with a sigh, obviously less than interested. “Look. For now we ‘gotta head back to the studio with this tape. C’mon, I don’t want to get stuck in any rain.”

 

Jaehwan ran his fingers through his coiffed dark hair in frustration, but nodded.

 

 

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

Once they’d dropped off their footage at the station Jaehwan promptly turned foot to leave, eager to just get out and _get loose_ . The day hadn’t panned out how he’d wanted it to; when did the news get so _boring_ ? Crop circles and missing pets wasn’t what he signed up for when he’d practically begged the station to take him on two years ago. He wanted to cover something _big_. A story that would cement his place in the world of television. Sighing, he walked through the station’s front lobby towards the exit, but paused when he heard a small voice shouting his name.

 

“Jaehwan!! Lee Jaehwan--!!”

 

 _What now_...

 

He turned around, but was pleasantly surprised to see the station’s newest intern running after him. He stopped, smiled, and let her catch up to him.

 

 

“Minha, _careful_!! What’s the rush?”

 

 

She caught her breath for a moment and straightened her blouse before holding out a small, folded piece of paper in her right hand. Jaehwan quirked an eyebrow in curiosity.

 

“What’s this? A confession?” he teased her lightly, narcissistic to a fault. She blushed, but shook her head.

 

“While you were gone someone called the station looking for you. He said his name was ‘Jung Taekwoon,’ and that he wanted to contact you about your report at the warehouse…”

 

 

Dropping his flirty attitude, he snatched the paper from her hands and began to unfold it. ‘ _Jung Taekwoon, 010 7678 3942_.’ Smiling again, he beamed back at Minha.

 

“Did you tell anyone else about this? Hajoon? That _primetime-slot-stealing_ _asshole_ Doyun?”

 

 

“No, he asked for you specifically so…”

 

 

“Good girl,” he winked and clapped her on the shoulder. Minha giggled, but turned to head back towards the station’s front desk after a small bow. Jaehwan continued out of the building with a renewed bounce in his step. This was great-- no, this was _more_.

 

Heaven sent.

 

 

Fetching his phone from his pocket, he dialed the number. A voice answered almost immediately.

 

 

 **< <** _“Hello-- hello?”_ **> >**

 

“Ah, is this Jung Taekwoon?”

 

 **< <** _”Speaking…”_ **> >**

 

“This is Lee Jaehwan from Channel 55. ‘ _Evening Spotlight_.’ I got your message…”

 

 **< <** _”Yeah, yeah. I saw you last weekend covering the body found at the warehouse. I want to talk to you about it. Interested?”_ **> >**

 

Jaehwan rolled his eyes. “Interested? Of _course_ I am. But in person. Tell me where and when.”

 

He man on the other end of the line paused for a moment before continuing. **< <** _”That cafe at 15th Street and Main. You free tonight?”_ **> >**

 

“Yeah…”

 

 **< <** _”Okay, I’ll be there in an hour.”_ **> >**

 

He nodded reflexively, even though the other man couldn’t see him, as Taekwoon cut the call. Bringing his phone back down from his ear he grinned.

 

 

_Jackpot._

 

* * *

 

It only took Jaehwan thirty minutes to get to 15th and Main, but he didn't mind being early. He bought a small latte and claimed a table in the corner, one that was out if the way but still had a good view of the door. The cafe was bustling with an evening rush, but it wasn’t crowded, creating a pleasantly social atmosphere. Leaning back, he crossed his legs and scrolled through his phone’s newsfeed as he waited. Twenty minutes later tall man dressed in worn jeans and a green ‘GAP’ hoodie approached his table. Jaehwan put his phone back down on the table, stood up, and extended his hand in greeting.

 

 

“Jung Taekwoon?”

 

 

The man nodded, shook his hand with a firm grip, and moved to sit down in the chair across from him.

 

“Yeah, thanks for meeting me,” He said in a soft voice that surprised him. It was an odd contrast to his large frame.

 

“Did you want anything? It’s on me. Coffee? A croissant?”

 

“No,” Taekwoon turned his head to look back at the front of the cafe for a moment, but shook his head. Jaehwan took note of the dark circles underneath his eyes and hunched posture. It looked like he hadn’t slept well in days. He shrugged and returned to his seat as well.

 

 

“Alright then, let's get to it. What do you have for me?”

 

 

Taekwoon leaned forward, putting his elbows on the small round table. “Do you remember a missing persons case from about six months ago? Jung Yoojin?”

 

Jaehwan thought for a moment, searching his memory, but shook his head. “No, I don’t…”

 

Taekwoon scowled, eyes narrowing and lip curling in frustration.

 

“ _That’s_ the problem.”

 

 

“Tell me about it then.”

 

 

Jaehwan listened patiently as Taekwoon told him about the day his sister disappeared. About how they’d searched for her for months with hardly any help from the police. How they’d gotten a promising call just a few days ago, but were told not to _do_ anything about it.

 

“... back then, they said there just wasn’t really anything concrete to go on, so we just did what we could. But now, now there _is_ , and they want us to keep quiet just because it’s connected to that ‘N’ case? It’s _bullshit_ ,” he complained, voice getting heated. “I want her face _everywhere_. If she’s really alive, someone has to have seen her. I want her to know we’re still looking for her… that we’re still waiting for her.”

 

Jaehwan crossed his arms across his chest and rubbed his chin as he listened, eyes practically glowing in triumph. Of _course_ he was right about there being more to the warehouse story than anyone else was willing to admit. It was almost better than he expected. A dead human trafficker, ‘N’ himself, and a missing girl? Complete with the police coercing the family to keep it ‘ _hush hush_ ’? The story practically wrote itself.

 

 

This was it. This was what he’d been waiting for.

 

 

“Don’t worry,” he said, leaning forward. “I’ll take care of this. By the end of the week, _everyone_ will know your sister’s name and face. We’ll get her home.”

 

Taekwoon nodded, emotionally exhausted after telling his story for what seemed the umpteenth time.

 

 

“I need everything you have though,” Jaehwan continued, gesturing lightly with his hands. “Pictures, videos… anything we can use.”

 

He grabbed a business card from his back pocket and slid it across the table towards Taekwoon.

 

“Thanks,” he answered as he gently pocketed the card into his wallet, shifting in his seat.

 

“That has my email, office, and cell number. Hey-- Taekwoon…”

 

 

The man looked back up at him with tired eyes.

 

 

“You did the right thing coming to me. Trust me, I’ll get your sister home.”

 


	10. Triple 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakyeon asks Yoojin what she can remember about his next target, and after an ill-fated first trip outside, things get tense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am SO SORRY I know I had some of this posted yesterday but I took it down because I felt a little weird about it and wanted to make sure that this is the direction I wanted to go in with a few things. My apologies, but I have a better handle on what's next so it's back. If you did read it, I made a few changes and added another scene at the end, so it's not exactly the same. I know Hyuk's introduction was brief, but he's going to start having some chapters from his point of view soon. Yay! As always, thanks for reading <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -implied threat of violence with a knife

 

**Triple 5**

 

 

The next morning, Hakyeon seemed to have returned to his typical, outwardly composed self, but Yoojin sensed a change in atmosphere between the two of them almost immediately. It was subtle, but it was there nonetheless. She could feel his eyes linger on her just a few more moments longer than usual when he thought she wasn’t looking, and truthfully, she admittedly did the same. At night, while they ate dinner, he’d started make vague small talk about his day instead of eating in relative silence. She learned he’d put himself through law school, preferred to cook so often due to his picky taste, and had a fondness for banana milk. Then, he’d typically read and nurse a glass of _something-or-other_ while next to him she’d flip through the channels on his TV, looking for something that would catch her interest.

 

Still, she’d gotten relatively proficient at reading his sudden mood swings, and although his spirits seemed to have lifted, by the end of the week she started to feel a nervous energy about him. Like he had an itch he just _couldn’t quite scratch_.

 

 

“Yoojin,” he started suddenly as soon as she walked upstairs on Saturday morning, standing in the center of the kitchen while holding a warm mug of tea.

 

“What do you remember about Jeon Sungwoo?”

 

 

She initially balked at the sudden, blunt broaching of the topic, but recovered and slowly walked to take a seat on her usual stool on the other side of the counter. She tapped her fingers nervously against the granite surface.

 

“Umm… well…”

 

Hakyeon shifted his weight between his feet and seemed to finally realize the charged nature of his query.

 

 

“...I’m sorry.”

 

 

“No, it’s fine,” she interrupted him before he could say anything else. Despite the question coming out of nowhere, a part of her had been looking forward to this conversation. Anything that would get her closer to the _peace_ she’d feel once everyone who’d hurt her, who’d turned her into this shadow of her former self, was _erased_.

 

“He- he had a rough voice. A smoker. I could always _smell_ it on him…”

 

 

Hakyeon stepped closer, and placed his mug on the counter between them. She looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes were sharp and predatory, but it encouraged her, and she continued.

 

 

“I think he drove a bike, a m-motorcycle. It was loud and I could always hear it when he arrived. He used to… complain a lot about traffic, and this one store… ‘Triple 5 Imports’ or something…”

 

Raising his chin, Hakyeon crossed his arms against his chest.

 

 

“‘Triple 5.’ They specialize in foreign cigars,” he said, recognizing the name.

 

Yoojin wrung her fingers between her hands.

 

“Oh…”

 

 

Hakyeon thought for a moment, and then suddenly grabbed his mug and turned to pour the contents out into the sink.

 

 

“Yoojin, do you want to go out for a drive today?”

 

She nodded.

 

 

“...Okay.”

 

* * *

 

Forty minutes later, stepping out into the bright morning sun, Yoojin paused while Hakyeon locked the door behind them, dressed in a simple white shirt and khakis. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been _outside_ , and it was frankly overwhelming. Hakyeon continued forward towards a black sedan parked just outside the gate, but Yoojin’s feet felt cemented to the concrete underneath her. Blinded by the sudden onslaught of a _reality_ outside his house, she couldn’t move.

 

“H-hakyeon,” she said in a soft voice as he strode past her without a second thought. She was ashamed of how pathetic her voice sounded, so small and weak, but it was all just _too much_. Back inside the comfort of Hakyeon’s kitchen she’d felt certain she was ready for this, but now, she wasn’t so sure. He turned around, noticing she hadn’t followed him, and backtracked until he was standing in front of her. Looking down into her wide eyes, he reached forward and gently took her hand into his. As he wrapped his fingers around hers, Yoojin regained the courage to continue.

 

 

_It’s okay,everything’s okay… Hakyeon’s here._

 

 

He didn’t say anything as Hakyeon turned back around to guide them both forward, but she felt immediately at ease. His hand was warm against hers as they headed out of the gate and onto the street beyond. He unlocked the sedan with a small _beep_ and opened the passenger side door for her, holding it open as she ducked inside. Then, he rounded the front of the car and slid into the driver’s seat. With a flick of his wrist the car started to life, and he maneuvered them around and out towards the city’s main thoroughfare.

 

As they drove out of his neighborhood and onto the city’s main highway, Yoojin couldn’t help but gawk at the sight. She’d forgotten how _large_ the world was. She suddenly felt that her own problems were just a footnote in the grand scheme of things. After all, she was just one person. One _small person_.

 

After fifteen minutes Hakyeon slowed down and parked in a free space across from a bustling shopping district. He moved to unclick his seat belt and open his driver’s side door, but Yoojin hesitated.

 

 

“Yoojin, you didn’t eat breakfast,” he said, and leaned over to unclip her own seat belt.

 

She nodded numbly, but followed his lead, trusting him.

 

 

They walked together for a block or so, until they arrived in front of a trendy bistro. Yoojin followed Hakyeon inside and waited slightly behind him as he ordered two ‘south-style’ omelettes, almost _painfully_ aware of any eyes that ventured to settle upon his shoulders. It made her feel strangely territorial, and she bristled, relieved when Hakyeon led them back outside to a small table at the corner of the restaurant’s front porch.

 

He leaned back in his seat across from her, and she did the same, before looking to the left and realizing why they were really here. The smoke-shop across the street couldn’t be any more ostentatious.

 

 

 _Triple 5_.

 

 

Snapping her eyes back towards Hakyeon, Yoojin studied his gaze. It was the same as their conversation in the kitchen. Dark, as if anticipating his prey’s next move…

 

She opened her mouth to speak, but a sudden voice to her right interrupted her.

 

 

 _“Mr. Cha?_ ”

 

 

A tall, well built man had paused while walking past them with a glass of ice water in his hand. He looked around Yoojin’s age, and was dressed in a classy pair of grey slacks under a white shirt and black patterned blazer. His hair was light brown in color, almost a sandy blonde, and he turned, bowing in recognition.

 

Hakyeon straightened stiffly. His irritation was obvious.

 

 

“Sanghyuk.”

 

 

The younger man smiled, oblivious to the tension Yoojin felt radiating from Hakyeon. He turned his attention towards her, and she smiled instinctively in return.

 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here! Who’s this, Mr. Cha??”

 

Yoojin blushed, unsure of how to respond. Her eyes darted between Hakyeon and the new arrival, confused. She felt her heart begin to panic.

 

 

“Sanghyuk. This is my cousin. ‘Hayoon.’ Hayoon, this is my office assistant, Han Sanghyuk. It seems even on a weekend I _can’t ignore_ what’s waiting for me on Monday...”

 

Hakyeon’s calm, but dry voice as he took charge of the situation jolted her back to reality. She forced a smile in response and extended her hand, playing along.

 

 

“Nice to meet you, Sanghyuk…”

 

 

She knew it was a mistake the moment Sanghyuk shook her hand with a soft bow, and grinned. He opened his mouth to say something further but Hakyeon was already out of his chair, and throwing a few bills onto their table, more than enough to cover what they’d ordered. He grabbed Yoojin’s hand from his assistant’s and Sanghyuk stepped backwards, almost spilling his water as Hakyeon moved between them.

 

“Sorry, we have to go,” he said shortly, and drug Yoojin through the restaurant and back towards his car with long, quick steps. She almost tripped trying to keep up with his pace. Slamming the doors shut after they entered, the turned on the engine and headed back to his place, all notion of their ‘stakeout’ forgotten.

 

 

The ride back was tense, and Yoojin looked down at her feet. She didn’t know why, but she felt she shouldn’t have done that; she shouldn’t have extended her hand to the young man and engaged him further. Apprehension boiling in her stomach, she glanced a nervous look over to Hakyeon. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

 

 

“Hakyeon… I’m sorry.”

 

He didn’t say anything, and they rode the rest of the way in silence. Once they arrived back at the house and stepped inside, Hakyeon said nothing, but started to grab some ingredients from the refrigerator to at least prepare _lunch_ by this point.

 

 

That’s when Yoojin made her second mistake of the morning.

 

She turned on the TV.

 

 

“ _...Continuing our Saturday Special-- this is Lee Jaehwan for Channel 55. Today I have someone special with me. Someone who needs our help. His sister has been missing for_ six months _, and it’s up to YOU, my viewers, to help solve this case. Jung Taekwoon, welcome and thank you for meeting with me today…_ ”

 

 

Yoojin felt her blood turn to ice when the new camera panned out from the reporter's perfectly manicured face to focus on her brother. He looked different than when she’d last seen him, thinner, tired, eyes void of their usual sparkle, but it couldn’t have been anyone else. She turned her head slowly around to look at Hakyeon as she stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. He’d stopped cutting the onion in front of him and turned to face Yoojin and the TV, knife still in hand.

 

His eyes snapped back and forth between her and her brother’s face on the screen as he began to describe Yoojin, an enthusiastic Lee Jaehwan nodding with encouragement.

 

 

“What's this, Yoojin?”

 

 

She opened her mouth as she began to back up slowly, but no words came out. Hakyeon stepped forward, around the kitchen corner towards her, knife still in hand. She could feel a cold rage take over him. For the first time, maybe she _was_ scared.

 

“Did you contact anyone? _I trusted you_ , Yoojin…”

 

 

“H-hakyeon,” she stuttered and continued backwards until she felt her back hit a wall. Hakyeon closed in, trapping her there.

 

“No, I p-promise!! I didn’t--”

 

 

“ _Then why is this reporter suddenly looking for you, Yoojin?_ ”

 

 

He slammed his free hand onto the wall, over her shoulder and next to her ear as he hunched downwards, boxing her in further.

 

“I-I don’t know,” she said in a small voice, tears welling up in her eyes. Truly, she didn’t; she was just as confused as Hakyeon. She hadn’t meant to anger him, and sobbing, she desperately tried to think of a way to convince him that she was still _here_ , with him, on his side. How could she make him see what he meant to her? That the very _idea_ of leaving him made her sick to her stomach?

 

 

His eyes grew darker and she felt her heart skip a beat.

 

Then, she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against his.

 

 

It was a soft, innocent kiss which surprised even her, and Hakyeon jolted his head back up away from hers at the suddenness of the gesture. Yoojin tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

 

  
  
“Hakyeon, I already told you… _I’d do anything for you._ ”

 

 


	11. Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanghyuk tries to make sense of his encounter with Hakyeon and 'Hayoon,' while Jaehwan takes a further interest in Taekwoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a shorter chapter, but I wanted to give these guys some attention before moving on. :)
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -None.

 

**Smile**

  
  
  
  


Han Sanghyuk stumbled backwards and raised his eyebrows in surprise as his boss suddenly stepped between him and ‘Hayoon.’ He steadied his hand just fast enough to keep his glass of ice water from spilling over and onto his shirt.

 

“Woah--”

 

“Sorry, we have to _go_ ,” the older man said before dragging his cousin along with him and out of the restaurant. Sanghyuk watched them as they left. Sure, Cha Hakyeon was eccentric and often moody, but this was odd, even for him. Just as he turned to leave and continue back towards his own table, a confused waitress arrived with two fresh plates of food.

 

“I think they had an… emergency,” Sanghyuk offered with a smile. The waitress frowned, but shrugged after noticing the extra cash on the table. She placed the tray on the table while she pocketed the money, and Sanghyuk tilted his head as he watched, taking a peek at her nametag.

 

 

“So, what happens with _all this_ now... 'Eunha?'” he asked her with a wink, gesturing towards the two plates of food. The waitress looked around and sighed as she stood back up.

 

“You want one? Help yourself. It’s just going in the trash now anyway.”

 

“Really? Thanks.”

 

 

Sanghyuk grinned in victory and grabbed one of the plates with his free hand, turning to weave through past a few other tables on his way back to his own.

 

 

“What’s this?” His two friends looked curiously at the unexpected addition to their breakfast.

 

“I ran into my boss and his cousin, but they had to leave so...” he shrugged and placed the plate on the table as he sat down. “Free food on him!”

 

 

Kim Gunho, one of his colleagues from the firm as well as a friend, laughed.

 

 

“Cha has a _family_? Really? You saw this with your own two eyes?”

 

“Yeah, she was cute too. In a quiet sort of way,” Sanghyuk nodded as he scooped some of the omelette onto his plate. “Although I didn’t see much a resemblance.”

 

“Careful,” the other member of their trio spoke up, “I tried to date my boss’ sister once. _Not worth it_.”

 

Sanghyuk snickered and looked back up at his friend with mischievous eyes. “Is _that_ why you got fired from that great gig you had over on Main Street, Mingyu?”

 

 

“Shut up, man...”

  


* * *

  
  


After they finished their breakfast and said their goodbyes, Sanghyuk lazily walked down the block towards his apartment building. Although he’d made light of it in the presence of his friends, internally he began to worry about the incident with his boss. The man paid him well, but was a royal pain in the rear sometimes. Overbearing. A perfectionist. He replayed the interaction in his mind, trying to figure out if he’d somehow done something _wrong_.

 

 

“ _Nice to meet you, Sanghyuk…_ ”

 

 

He smiled despite his worry recalling Hayoon’s soft voice when she’d extended her hand towards him. She hadn’t been wearing much, if any, cosmetics, but he thought her natural look suited her. Still, she’d also seemed somewhat taken aback when he’d tried to introduce himself. Anxious even. Maybe he’d interrupted something serious. Family business?

 

 

He hoped it wouldn’t come back around to bite him in the ass on Monday, and made a mental note to show up to the office early and get some extra work done, just in case.

 

 

Entering his building, he checked his mailbox before taking the elevator up to his floor and heading for his front door. He tapped his security code into the sleek panel and stepped inside, letting the door slam shut behind him. After removing his shoes he wandered towards his couch and dropped his mail onto his glass coffee table, trading the assorted fliers and envelopes for his TV remote.

 

Leaning back and propping his feet up, he started channel surfing, looking for anything that would catch his interest. Sports maybe; was there a game on today? He tried to remember as he flipped through the city’s main broadcasting networks, but found himself disappointed. Only some ‘Special Feature’ broadcast by that _one_ reporter from the evening news and a tired looking guest. The man had a flair for the dramatic, if nothing else. He watched it for a few minutes, but found himself zoning out, the reporter’s excited voice droning in one ear and out the other. Giving up, he cut off the TV and headed over to sit down in front of his computer instead.

 

 

_Overwatch it is, then...  
_

  
  
  


* * *

  


“Alright-- that’s a wrap!”

 

Jaehwan clapped triumphantly as the news crew bustled around the studio, packing up and getting ready for their next segment. He turned towards Taekwoon and shook his guest’s hand. The man looked sapped of all energy, relieved the hour was finally up. Jaehwan put an arm around his shoulders as they walked backstage and out of the studio.

 

 

“Hey. Taekwoon. You did great.”

 

“Yeah,” he answered vaguely.

 

“I’m serious! What do you think about a follow up next weekend?”

 

 

Taekwoon frowned to himself, but nodded.

 

 

“Come on, hopefully we’ll have some new information by then. Trust me, repeated exposure is _everything_.”

 

“Okay…”

 

“Great,” Jaehwan grinned and clapped the man on the chest with his free hand, practically hanging off his shoulders now. Taekwoon tried to politely shrug him off, but Jaehwan missed the point and had already launched into a lunch invitation.

 

“...You can’t say no _again_ , Taekwoon, I’ll start getting offended. It’s on me.”

 

 

The man sighed, but nodded.

 

 

The restaurant Jaehwan picked was just across the street from the station, and it was clear that he was a regular. He chatted up the hostess as she led them to ‘his usual table,’ and badgered the poor waiter about how his two sons were doing as he was desperately trying to leave to tend to his _other_ tables as well. Eventually, however, the atmosphere did end up having some semblance of relaxing effect on Taekwoon, and he settled back in his seat, happy to let Jaehwan carry most of the conversation. It had been a while since he’d taken any social time for himself, and Jaehwan provided his mind a welcome distraction as he told a number of outrageously embellished stories about his time in the field.

 

By the time they were done eating, Taekwoon felt satisfied, and even a little refreshed. Jaehwan leaned back and motioned to their waiter for a pair of to-go boxes. Then, he looked back at Taekwoon and paused his chatter for a moment, trading his smile for a more serious expression.

 

 

“Look, Taekwoon. I know that we - _us reporters_ \- get stuck with a certain type of reputation. But you’re a good guy, you know that?”

 

He nodded to their waiter as he dropped off their to-go boxes and handed one across the table to Taekwoon.

 

“Station ratings aside, I really hope you find your sister.”

 

 

Taekwoon looked up after shoveling his leftovers into the styrofoam box and put his empty plate to the side. The look in Jaehwan’s eyes was surprisingly sincere.

 

 

“Thanks.”

 

“You know, if you ever need anything… a distraction, a night out, just _someone to talk to_ ,” he couldn’t help but smirk at this, considering Taekwoon’s curt nature. “You can always call me up. Alright?”

 

Taekwoon couldn’t help but return Jaehwan’s smile. It was that infectious.

 

 

“Sure. I will.”

 

 


	12. The Cabin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoojin and Hakyeon take a long drive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was looking forward to writing this chapter. As always thanks for reading, I love you all <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Nothing new.

  
**The Cabin**

 

  

  
“ _...I’d do anything for you._ ”

 

  
Yoojin’s heart beat wildly as she waited for Hakyeon’s response. He stood in stunned silence, and she could almost hear the gears whirring in his mind as he weighed her words against his options. The TV still droned on in the background, Lee Jaehwan’s voice cutting through the silence. Finally, Hakyeon rolled his shoulders in irritation and stepped forward towards her again. She gasped and raised up her hands, but he merely snatched the TV’s remote from her hands.

 

 

“ _Give me that--_ ”

 

 

He stalked back towards the counter and threw the knife into the sink before shutting the TV off. Opening a drawer at the edge of the kitchen, he fished around for a moment before his hand emerged with a pair of scissors.

 

“You’re going to help me _fix this_. Here. Cut your hair,” he shot her a piercing look and she walked tentatively forward.

 

 

“Right now..?”

 

“Yes. _Now_.”

 

 

She grabbed the scissors gently, and he walked around her towards his study. Keys jingling, Hakyeon unlocked the door and went inside. She could hear the sound of desk drawers slamming and paper shuffling, but not wanting to test his patience any longer, she turned down the hallway and walked through Hakyeon’s bedroom towards his bathroom.

 

Standing in front of his large mirror, she held the scissors awkwardly. She’d worn her hair short before, most recently in high school, but she’d obviously never dared cut it herself. Trying to angle the scissors as straight as possible, she started to crop it to around an inch above her shoulders, leaning forward so that the scraps fell on the white counter.

 

After about ten minutes, she heard Hakyeon walking around the corner just as she was attempting to reach behind her neck. She met his eyes through the mirror as he stood in the doorway. They were still heated, but all in all he’d seemed to have calmed down a bit. Still, she shrunk a bit into herself when he walked forward.

 

“It’s uneven,” he said quietly, and held out his hand. She relaxed, handed him the scissors, and then watched him as he stood behind her and started clipping the chunks of hair she couldn’t quite reach, straightening the look so that it started to resemble an above the shoulder bob. She cocked her head to the side once he was done. It was different, but it didn’t look _bad_.

 

Hakyeon studied her reflection in the mirror, and then gently guided her shoulders around to face him.

 

“Bangs too,” he decided, and combed some of her hair forward, trimming it carefully, little by little, until she had a long fringe that swept over her eyebrows. Once he was satisfied with the end result he placed the scissors on the counter.

 

 

“Clean this up.”

 

 

He motioned towards her discarded hair clippings and turned to leave the room again, but paused at the door.

 

“...Please.” he added softly as an afterthought before exiting.

 

 

Once she’d done as he asked, she ran her fingers through her new haircut and walked back towards the common room. Hakyeon had gathered two large, cardboard file boxes, full of folders, newspaper articles, and other clippings. She recognized the leather knife roll as well, peeking out from underneath the pile of manilla. He was standing in front of them, hands against the counter with his shoulders hunched over and his head down. Yoojin walked closer and he looked up. His eyes almost looked pained as they met hers, and he quickly looked away.

 

 

“Come on. We have to get rid of this.”

 

 

He grabbed one of the boxes and motioned for her to do the same before heading for the front door. Then, for the second time that day, Yoojin followed him out into the sunlight.

 

 

* * *

 

  
After they’d loaded everything up into his sedan, Hakyeon drove them straight onto the highway, and before long Yoojin realized they were nearing the city’s limits. As the tall buildings and wide lanes started to disappear and narrow behind them, she brought her knees up to her chest and looked out the window. Hakyeon said nothing, and they continued in silence for almost two hours until she heard his gas meter start to beep. He took the next exit and rolled into a dusty gas station.

 

“Stay here,” he ordered, and refilled the sedan’s tank. Watching him go inside the convenience store to pay, she wondered where they were. Where they were going. What he was _doing_.

 

 

Eventually he returned with a few bottles of water and two packaged sandwiches. She nodded in thanks as he handed her one, and she suddenly remembered they hadn't eaten all day. Her stomach growled and she unwrapped the slightly stale bread happily. Hakyeon did the same, eating slowly as he started up the engine and they continued outbound into the country.

 

 

After another hour, he peeled off towards an exit that seemed to lead towards a small, forested town. She perked up, looking out of the window again with interest. He drove slowly down the town’s main street, attracting mild interest from the locals, until it petered off and began to split into several gated, gravel driveways. Turning onto one marked by a red mailbox, he let the car idle while he stepped out to unlock the gate’s padlock. Once he drove them through, he locked it back up and they continued up the driveway.

 

He drive for about another half mile, then turned around a bend and Yoojin saw a small cabin come into view. It looked structurally sound, but obviously overgrown and unoccupied.

 

 

“W-where are we?” she asked, beginning to feel apprehensive again.

 

 

Hakyeon ignored her question and motioned for her to grab one of the boxes as he turned the car off and they both got out.

 

“Bring it inside.”

 

She did as he asked, and he balanced the other box on his hip while he fished through his keys and unlocked the door.

 

The cabin’s interior was dark, and musty. A thin layer of dust covered the floor, and white sheets lay over the sparse furniture. She followed him inside as he fished around the opposite wall until he found the light switch. Even illuminated, the cabin still had a sense of _sadness_ around it, and she gently placed her box down on a square, worn dining table on the right side of the room. Hakyeon continued through the cabin and out of the back door, shoulders down as if a weight was pushing down against him, smothering him.

 

She stood awkwardly on the back steps as he drug a few logs of dried out firewood that were stacked next to the cabin’s foundation, and stacked them haphazardly into a stone fire pit a few feet away. Then, he walked back to the car, grabbed a silver and yellow can of lighter fluid from the trunk, and poured it over the firewood.

 

He paused for a moment, and then pulled a pack of matches from his pocket and lit the fire.

 

 

“Yoojin. The box.”

 

 

She nodded, went back inside to grab her box where she’d left it, and returned to stand next to him. Looking down at its contents, every manila folder had a name and date on the corner, save for Jeon Sungwoo’s on top. Holding the box for him, she watched as Hakyeon took each folder, studied the name briefly, and then tossed it into the bonfire, one by one. There were thirteen in total; six in her box, and seven in his. The dates got older and older, until he was standing with the last folder in his hands labeled only ‘ _N_ ’ and dated _05/24/2012_ in faded blue ink. He moved to throw it into the fire as well, but then stopped, hesitating, and placed it instead back into his box next to the set of knives.

 

Yoojin stood next to him as he straightened back up and watched the files burn. His white shirt and khakis, so clean and crisp looking this morning, were now smudged with dirt and ash. She felt oddly depressed as the flames licked across the paper and ink, like she was watching a precious history, one of a kind, disappear up into smoke.

 

 

She touched his arm lightly and he whipped his head around, as if he had forgotten she was even there.

 

 

“Hakyeon. I’m sorry,” she said, unsure of what she was apologizing for, but feeling the need to say it regardless.

 

 

“It’s done now,” he said simply, and grabbed the box containing his knives and the last file and heading back inside. He dropped it in a corner and locked up the cabin as they headed back to the car. Once their seatbelts were secured, he took a moment to tap out a message on his phone before starting up the engine and steering them around into a sharp U-turn.

 

 

 _“Let's go home, Yoojin._ ”

 


	13. Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonshik and Hongbin go have a 'friendly talk' with Jaehwan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope no one minds how I'm writing Jaehwan. I have a soft spot for characters with this type of personality so _someone_ was going to end up more or less a bit of a sarcastic tease, haha. I also promise this is the last chapter that takes place on the Saturday we've been on for a while. I just wanted to set things up for what's next. Anyway as always thanks for reading!!  <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -None.

 

**Compromise**

  
  
  


Wonshik was enjoying a beer and a pleasant Saturday afternoon off when his phone buzzed. Repeatedly. He sighed, and reached across his couch and swiped his finger across the screen. _4 unread messages._ He groaned, and reluctantly scrolled through. What _now_?

 

 

**< <** **_Hongbin:_ ** _Did you see the news on Channel 55 just now?_ **> >**

 

**< <** **_Hongbin:_ ** _Call me--!!_ **> >**

 

**< <** **_Lt. Park:_ ** _Kim. I know it’s your day off but we’re calling you in._ **> >**

 

**< <** **_Hongbin:_ ** _WHERE ARE YOU??_ **> >**

 

 

“Jeez,” he muttered under his breath and looked sadly at the rest of the beer in his hand. Downing most of it, he stood, walked into his small apartment’s kitchen and tossed the bottle into the trash. “No rest for the wicked…”

 

Rubbing his eyes and grabbing his ID, wallet and keys from a table next to the door, he headed out.

 

 

When the elevator doors opened up onto the precinct’s main floor with a quiet _ding_ , his partner intercepted him almost immediately, a furious look on his face. Did the man _ever go home?_ Wonshik raised his eyebrows and clapped a hand on his partner's shoulder in greeting.

 

“Hongbin, what's going on?”

 

“Come on, Park’s office. You won't believe what he did this time…”

 

Wonshik followed Hongbin as they headed past their desk and towards their Lieutenant's office. She was leaning out of her door, motioning them forward.

 

 

“Who? _N_?”

 

“No that _fucking reporter_ , the same one who always corners you at N’s crime scenes.”

 

 

“Mmm. Lee.” Wonshik nodded in recognition of who he was talking about. It was true, the man had a certain… _way_ about him that Hongbin felt was particularly abrasive. Wonshik himself didn't mind him all that much; he was just trying to do his job, same as them. Sometimes he teased Hongbin that maybe the real reason for his ire was that he didn't like sharing the Lee name with him, but the joke had gotten stale pretty quickly and Wonshik kept quiet.

 

 

“No, trust me, it's _worse_ this time. He must have talked to the brother. You know, the one who made a scene in here the other day?”

 

 

This, however, did succeed in making Wonshik frown as they reached Park’s office. He thought he'd gotten through to the man, but apparently not. Their boss held the door open for them as they entered, as was her habit.

 

“Thanks for coming in. Here, this clip should catch you up,” she said, getting straight to the point and spinning her monitor around so that Wonshik could see. The open webpage was on Channel 55’s backsplash, and Wonshik felt his heart sink at the large title emblazoned across the station's latest video clip; ‘ _MISSING: JUNG YOOJIN-- HAVE YOU SEEN ME?’_ Lt. Park pressed play and Hongbin shifted his weight, arms crossed in agitation as Lee Jaehwan’s voice filled the office.

 

 

“ _The police are sweeping this under the rug, more interested in closing the case on ‘N’ than saving an innocent girl's life-- but I can't let that stand. Viewers!! We've got to bring her home--”_

 

 

Wonshik sighed as Lt. Park paused the video again. “How long ago did this air?”

 

“Just before noon,” Hongbin answered heatedly. “I _sent_ you a message. I can't believe they did this. Does he have any idea what kind of danger he's put his own sister in, especially if she really is with N?”

 

 

Wonshik rubbed his chin. It was a bad move. Jaehwan and Jung Taekwoon had practically single-handedly compromised their entire investigation in one fell swoop. He felt a headache coming on, as Hongbin continued to rant loudly next to him. He let him continue, knowing it would be useless to stop him until he’d made his opinions clear.

 

 

“Maybe she's not _with_ N though,” Wonshik ventured hopefully after a few moments, while Hongbin paused for a breath. “Maybe she's alone somewhere, or staying with a friend. You know how it goes over in Vice… half the victims are so shell shocked by the time they get to them…” he trailed off, aware of how unconvincing he sounded. The scenario was possible, but unlikely. N didn’t make mistakes like leaving living witnesses at a scene, and _someone_ had to have unlocked the cargo container.

 

“Is that a chance they're willing to take? I'm not. I don't think N would kill her, it not part of his MO, but who knows. With enough provocation that could _easily_ change….”

 

 

“Alright, _enough_ ,” Lt. Park interrupted. “We've already been through this. What's done is done, and we'll just need to adapt our strategy. If the brother’s involved the media we need to work together on this. Is that clear?”

 

 

Hongbin made a noise of irritation, but nodded in acknowledgement and Wonshik followed suit.

 

“I want you guys over at that news station STAT. Get them to understand they need to tone it down. They don't know what they're dealing with; I don't care how much they're going to complain about the ratings.”

 

 

“Yes, ma'am,” Wonshik answered.

 

 

“Good. Dismissed. Get to it.”

 

* * *

 

Hongbin seethed the entire way over to the station. Luckily there wasn't much traffic, but the afternoon’s shadows were growing longer by the time they pulled up into the station’s parking lot.

 

“I wonder if he's still even _here_ ,” his partner muttered as they walked in through the station's glass doors. Wonshik shrugged. Just when they approached the station's front desk, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

 

 

“Sign us in, Hongbin, this might be Lt. Park,” he said as he retrieved the device from his pocket and checked his messages.

 

 

**< <** **_Hakyeon-hyung:_ ** _Wonshik, what's going on with that case? I thought it was supposed to stay out of the media- did you see that newscast about it today?_ **> >**

 

He took a moment to respond while Hongbin dealt with a frazzled front desk attendant.

 

**< <** **_Wonshik:_ ** _You saw that too? Dealing with it now…_ **> >**

 

 

Hongbin returned finally with two guest badges as Wonshik pocketed his phone again.

 

“What did Boss say?”

 

 

Wonshik shook his head. “It was Cha. He saw the report too, apparently.”

 

Hongbin gave him a suspicious look. “Why is he so interested in this case? He wouldn't stop asking about it during that _lunch_ you dragged me to last weekend. Ex-prosecutor or not, you shouldn't have told him about the girl… did you see his _eyes_? Uncanny.”

 

“Chill out, Hongbin. Who wouldn't be interested? Everyone and their mother knows about it now anyway,” Wonshik rolled his eyes and clipped his visitor's badge to his shirt's front pocket, and together they walked back into the studio.

 

 

The duo found Jaehwan at a crowded, messy desk on the main cubicle floor, scribbling some notes down into a yellow notepad. He looked up as they approached, and leaned back in his office chair.

 

 

“Well, well, well. If it isn't my two _favorite detectives_ …”

 

 

Hongbin lunged forward and grabbed the reporter’s suit lapels and hoisted him up out of his chair before Wonshik could stop him.

 

“ _You idiot--_ ”

 

“Hey-- _hey_! Hongbin.”

 

 

Wonshik stepped between the two men with a tone of warning towards his partner. Hongbin reluctantly let go, and Jaehwan smoothed his jacket back down with a light tsk of his tongue.

 

“Alright, now that _that's_ out if the way, what can I do for you two? Come to thank me for doing your job for you?”

 

 

Wonshik sighed in exasperation.

 

 

“I think you know why we're here.”

 

Jaehwan nodded. “I can guess. Get any good tips yet?”

 

 

“You need to tone it down, Lee,” Hongbin hissed in return. Jaehwan dropped his cute act for a moment and crossed his arms across his chest.

 

“Why? Jung Taekwoon came to me and said you guys were pushing his sister's case under the rug. The poor guy is running himself ragged looking for her. How do you expect to find her without some publicity? You think N’s just going to drop her off in front of your building with a big fat bow on her head? _Merry Christmas--”_

 

Hongbin opened his mouth to retaliate, but Wonshik interrupted first, determined to keep things diplomatic.

 

 

“Jaehwan. I know you _think_ you're doing the right thing, but you don't understand who you're dealing with. Please, trust us. How do you think N would have reacted after seeing your little show today? Think about it.”

 

Jaehwan shifted his legs uneasily.

 

“We’re trying to stay a step ahead of him. Now he knows our angle. Understand?”

 

 

“If he hadn't killed her yet, how would this change anything?”

 

 

“That's not how these people work, Jaehwan. You _can't_ be that dense.”

 

The reporter sighed and sat back down, tapping his finger against his desk.

 

 

“...Alright. I get your point. But you have to admit, half the city knows her face now. That's got to count for something.”

 

“Maybe. Look, you can't pull a stunt like that again. The information’s already out there now and there's nothing we can do about it. But you have to keep it _low-key._ Tone it down. Keep it routine; slip it in with the rest of the news. We don't want to trigger either N _or_ her into doing anything drastic.”

 

 

Jaehwan sighed, but nodded. “Fine, fine.

 

 

“And tell Jung he needs to cool it too, if he contacts you again. I know he's in pain but he's _got to understand_ he's doing more harm than good at this point.”

 

“I'll tell him.”

 

“Now, if the station _does_ get any tips called in, forward them to me or Det. Lee here. Got it?” Wonshik dug out one of his business cards, but Jaehwan waved it away.

 

“I still have your card from last time,” he said with a smile.

 

 

“We done here, then?” Hongbin spoke up again finally, a scowl on his face.

 

 

“What, you don't want a station tour?” Jaehwan winked as he turned back around to face his desk, his serious tone lifted back in favor of his more familiar persona.

 

 

Wonshik grabbed Hongbin’s elbow and guided him around and away from Jaehwan before he could retaliate.

 

 

“Thanks, but I think we're good,” he called over his shoulder as they left.

 

 


	14. Familiar Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanghyuk encounters a news article that has him increasingly uneasy about his boss, and tries to decide what to do about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I would finish posting what I had written up this week, since this weekend might be busy for me. Mini cliffhanger? :p As always, thanks for all your comments and love!! <3 Happy Friday!
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -None.

  
**Familiar Face**

 

 

Sanghyuk groaned when he heard his alarm go off just as the first rays of dawn started to seep through his window’s closed, white blinds. Untangling an arm from his sheets, he groped around for his phone for a few moments before finally locating the source of the noise and hitting the snooze button. _Just ten more minutes…_

 

Eventually, however, the alarm sounded once more and he forced himself to sit up. He yawned and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to will the sleep from his limbs. Then, swinging his legs around the side of the bed he stumbled over to his bathroom. As he waited for his shower to heat up, he brushed his teeth and grabbed a fresh, pink dress shirt and pair of slacks to change into afterwards.

 

Forty minutes later he was showered, shaved, and styled, clicking his apartment door shut behind him as he headed out to the office. As he'd hoped, he was one of the first to arrive. After grabbing a quick cup of coffee from the break room, he sat down at his desk just outside of Hakyeon's office. He scrolled through his boss’s calendar, pleasantly surprised to see it was a light day. Appointment wise anyway.

 

“Thank god,” he murmured to himself, relieved that he could get a head start on some of the workload that had been inexplicably piling up lately. He finished preparing a few of the more urgent documents littering his desk and tabbed them ready for Hakyeon’s signature. Finally, the days necessities finished, he stretched and decided to take a quick break as more of his coworkers slowly filtered in. Killing time, he swiveled back and forth in his seat and decided to surf the web.

 

His desktop's internet browser loaded the office’s default homepage: a mix of local, entertainment and sports news. Sanghyuk was about to click out to his preferred search engine when something caught his eye. The article’s cringeworthy clickbait-esque headline read ‘ _One Brother’s HEARTBREAKING Quest to Find His Sister,_ ’ but it wasn't the title that he focused on; it was the photo of a young woman, startlingly familiar.

 

 

“ _Nice to meet you too, Sanghyuk…_ ”

 

 

His interaction with Hakyeon and his cousin on Saturday popped immediately into his mind, and he felt a chill go down his spine.

 

 _No. No way… it_ couldn't _be._

 

He leaned forward eyes wide, and clicked on the article skimming through the text. The first few images he recognized as the worn out looking guest from the Saturday news story he'd decided to ignore, and he suddenly regretted not paying better attention. As he kept reading, a series of images of the man's apparently missing sister, ‘Jung Yoojin,’ came into view. He felt his heart leap into his throat.

 

 

It had to be her. There was _no doubt_ in his mind.

 

 

Just when he was about to pick up a post-it pad and write down the contact number listed underneath the photos, Hakyeon's voice jolted his eyes up. He was standing over his desk, dressed as sharp as ever with his hands in his pockets, looking down at him. His eyes, however, were uncharacteristically tired, ringed in puffy, dark circles as if he hadn’t been sleeping well.

 

 

“Sanghyuk. You're early today,” he said in a flat voice.

 

 

Sanghyuk’s heart pounded loudly against his ears and his hand shakily rushed to press the blue ‘X’ at the top right of his screen.

 

“Mr. Cha. Good m-morning,” Sanghyuk answered, fighting to keep his voice calm. “I um, just had some things I needed to catch up on. Everything that needs your signature is in your inbox.”

 

Hakyeon studied his assistant for a second longer than usual, but nodded.

 

 

“Thank you. I rescheduled my 4 o'clock meeting regarding the Kim case for Thursday at 2:30. Make a note of it.”

 

 

The younger man felt strangely nervous underneath his boss’s gaze, and ran his tongue along his bottom lip nervously.

 

“Will do, sir.”

 

Finally, Hakyeon continued forward into his office and closed the door, leaving Sanghyuk to exhale a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

 

 

* * *

 

 

As the morning slowly waned to afternoon, certain puzzle pieces started falling into place in Sanghyuk’s mind. The way Hakyeon’s ‘cousin’ had seemed so quiet, so nervous; how Hakyeon had practically bolted from the restaurant after he’d tried to politely introduce himself to her. Even the fact that his boss, practically a workaholic, had been arriving to the office later and leaving much earlier than normal for the past few weeks finally started to make sense.

 

He’d always thought Hakyeon’s rather intense nature was just due to his authoritative management style, and that surely outside of work he had a more ‘normal’ persona, for lack of a better term. But the notion that just _maybe_ , Cha Hakyeon wasn’t quite who he seemed, started to creep around the edges of his consciousness.

 

He tapped his foot nervously, suddenly remembering a certain night not long after he’d first been hired. Almost forgotten, the memory now sprung to life as clear as day. He’d been working late, still trying to get the hang of the office’s particularly specific filing system, when Hakyeon had unexpectedly returned to the firm around eight in the evening. His boss had seemed startled, almost _angry_ that Sanghyuk was still there, and he had a cut on the side of his temple along with a bruised nose as he rushed past him to retrieve something from his office. Sanghyuk had wondered if he was possibly drunk or otherwise inebriated at the time, but kept it to himself, not wanting to compromise a new job he’d been lucky to score in the first place.

 

 

What had he said the next morning, bruise covered lightly with concealer? That he’d been in a _car accident_?

 

He frowned and peered around his desk towards Hakyeon’s office door, but it was closed.

 

 

“Hey, Sanghyuk,” Gunho’s voice as he wandered towards his desk made him jump involuntarily. “Lunch break?”

 

Sanghyuk sighed and nodded, happy for the distraction, and stood to join his friend as they walked towards the office breakroom. As he placed a cheap bowl of microwavable ramen in the microwave, he turned to his friend.

 

 

“Hey, Gunho. Can I ask you something?”

 

 

“You already did, man,” his friend laughed over a plate of leftovers he’d brought from home and leaned back against the kitchenette counter. Sanghyuk frowned and Gunho sensed his joke falling flat, so he gestured with his fork and nodded.

 

“Go on, what’s up?”

 

Sanghyuk rubbed his chin and tried to pick his words carefully.

 

 

“Do you ever feel like there’s something _off_ about Mr. Cha?”

 

 

Gunho raised his eyebrows and looked around the breakroom to make sure they were alone, as if about to spill some juicy gossip.

 

“Define ‘off.’ This is _Cha Hakyeon_ we’re talking about. He may have founded this firm, but let’s be real. He’s an odd one.”

 

Sanghyuk sighed and retrieved his bowl of ramen from the microwave. He placed it gently on the countertop and dropped a pair of chopsticks over the lid to keep it closed while it finished cooking.

 

 

“I don’t know,” answered lamely, feeling frustrated. Gunho was one of his oldest friends, but there was _no way_ he was going to come out and explain to him what he was getting at.

 

 

Gunho shrugged. “You know, honestly? Sometimes I just feel like he needs to get laid.”

 

Sanghyuk snorted in laughter at the unexpected comment.

 

 

“Alright, alright. Forget I said anything...”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Once he’d finished eating and listening to Gunho recap his weekend escapades at his favorite club for the rest of their lunch break, he returned to his desk to see Hakyeon locking up his office. His suit jacket was draped over his arm, and his briefcase slung over his arm. Clearly, it was another ‘half day’ for him.

 

“I’m leaving for the afternoon, Sanghyuk. Forward any important calls to my cellphone’s voicemail.”

 

“Understood,” Sanghyuk nodded as he took a seat behind his computer, watching his boss carefully with wary eyes. Hakyeon looked up and caught his gaze. The two stared at each other for a moment, before Sanghyuk broke first, coughing as he looked back down at his computer’s monitor. Hakyeon paused for a few more seconds, then, his eyes finally slid off of his assistant as he strolled out and around the corner towards the building’s exit. Cursing inwardly, Sanghyuk leaned forward and balled his fists in his hair.

 

 

 _What the hell was_ that _, Sanghyuk?!_

 

 

He needed to calm down and _get it together_ . Pretend he hadn’t given a second thought to their encounter on Saturday. Crouching up over his desk and peering forward to make sure Hakyeon was _really_ on his way out, he chewed on his lower lip. Then, he sat back down and pulled up his browser again, looking for the article he’d seen this morning. It was still on the front homepage, and for a cold moment he realized that meant Hakyeon had definitely seen it as well. Steadying the small tremble in his hand, he clicked the link.

 

The face of the girl he’d met over the weekend still stared back at him when he scrolled down to get a second look at ‘Jung Yoojin’’s photos. He took a deep breath and programmed the tip line’s phone number into his cell, but hesitated to press the green _call_ button. Should he call it in? _Could he?_ Even if he could stay anonymous, it would be painfully obvious to Hakyeon that it was him.

 

 

So then what? If it _wasn’t_ her, he’d definitely lose his job. And if it was her… if Cha Hakyeon _was_ a kidnapper, a murderer, _N himself_ …

 

 

Shivering, he pocketed his phone.

 

He wouldn’t stand by and do nothing, that much he promised himself. However, first he needed to figure out for sure what was going on. Both for _her_ sake and his.

 

 

He needed a plan.

 

 


	15. Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakyeon has a difficult weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in a certain mood when I wrote this, and almost entirely typed it up on my phone so I apologize in advance, lol.
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Alcohol use?

  
**Fever**

 

 

  
By the time Yoojin and Hakyeon drove back into town on Saturday, the sun had already set. It was late, the soft glow of the city’s streetlights lighting their way home. Neither of them said much of anything, and as soon as he walked through the door Hakyeon promptly continued straight towards the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from his liquor cabinet. He turned around, almost as an afterthought, and looked at Yoojin standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

 

 

“Go to bed, Yoojin.”

 

 

Then, he walked around the corner and shut himself into his study with a slam of the door.

 

Yoojin watched him as he went, a confused expression blooming across her face. It seemed like just hours ago he had her pressed up against the wall, irate, knife in hand as he threatened her. She’d felt _certain_ he was going to lock her back downstairs as soon as they got home. Instead, it seemed that his dark mood had turned inward.

 

She took a few moments to clean up the kitchen, food Hakyeon had meant to prepare for lunch still sitting forgotten on the counter. After tidying up, she did as he asked and headed downstairs.

 

 

  
* * *

 

 

Sunday morning found Hakyeon sprawled out on the couch, still in his ash-ridden t-shirt and khaki slacks. Yoojin tried to shake him awake when she emerged from the basement, but he pushed her away, and at a loss for what else to do, she simply curled up on the couch next to him.

 

Finally, he stirred awake around noon, and she pulled out some ingredients from the refrigerator. Trying to make a light soup for lunch, she gently chopped some filler vegetables, kimchi and beef, adding them to a boiling pot of chicken stock along with _gochujang_ , soy, and a few other seasonings. It was by no means up to par with Hakyeon’s cooking, but it was passable, and smelled pleasantly of garlic and sesame oil by the time she was finished.

 

 

“Hakyeon, you should _eat_ something,” she said, bringing a bowlful along with fresh rice and setting it on the coffee table in front of him. His eyes barely glanced down towards the meal before he shoved past her and walked back towards his study. When he returned, whiskey bottle and glass back in hand, he merely resumed his drinking on the couch.

 

 

“Turn on the news,” he ordered her in a flat voice. She frowned, looking between him and the drink in his hand, but did as he said.

 

 

They sat like this for the majority of the afternoon, untouched lunch sitting in front of him until it grew cold. Yoojin, nervous about his reaction, was thankful that the day’s programming didn’t include anything about either her or Nam Chiwon’s body at the warehouse. By the time the sun started to set, it was clear Hakyeon was _beyond_ wasted. He started dozing off, head resting back against the couch, his glass almost slipping from his hand. Yoojin deftly caught it and reached over to place it next to his now empty bottle of whiskey. She turned off the TV and gently shook Hakyeon’s shoulders, worried.

 

 

“Hakyeon… _Hakyeon!!_ ”

 

 

His eyes fluttered open and he gave her a dazed look.

 

“Yoojin,” he slurred, but lifted his head.

 

“I’m tired.”

 

 

“I know,” she answered softly, and grabbed his arm, trying to hoist him up off the couch. “Come on, you need to sleep in your own bed.”

 

After a moment of confusion he seemed to realize were he was and understand her meaning, leaning forward to sit up. She helped him stand, but he immediately lost his footing, and Yoojin braced his arm over her shoulders just in time to prevent his fall backwards.

 

 

“ _S-slowly!!_ ” she said, louder than intended. Hakyeon paused and looked down at her.

 

 

“I never ate your lunch,” he said vaguely, the words struggling from his mouth as she wrapped her other hand around his waist, trying to guide him safely forward. Yoojin looked up to give him a sympathetic smile.

 

 

“It’s okay.”

 

 

Once they’d made their way into Hakyeon’s bedroom she helped him lay down onto the bed. Fishing around through a few drawers, she located the extra comforter he’d used the first time she’d spent the night upstairs and tucked it around his tall frame. Almost immediately, he turned inward and curled into a tight ball, letting his exhaustion overwhelm him.

 

Yoojin paused for a moment, but climbed into the bed as well, underneath his linen sheets. Studying his face, she felt a soft pang in her heart. He looked tired, _broken_. A feeling she was intimately familiar with.

 

 

Reaching over to place a small hand over his, she closed her eyes.

 

 

* * *

 

  
When she woke up early Monday morning, just before dawn, Hakyeon had moved from his own comforter to bundle up underneath the sheets along with Yoojin, facing her. His arm was draped around her waist and as she shifted in surprise, he stirred in his sleep and pulled her closer to him. Sweat dotted his forehead and his skin was feverish to the touch. She couldn’t help but reach up and smooth some of his soft, damp hair away from his forehead.

 

He murmured something she couldn’t understand and slowly opened his eyes. They were still somewhat glassy, and she could tell he hadn't quite slept off the amount of alcohol in his system. Lying so close to her like this, he looked almost _vulnerable_. It was strangely unnerving.

 

“Hakyeon,” she said his name quietly, and he lifted the arm over her waist to touch her cheek in a soft gesture.

 

 

“Yoojin, you’re still here.”

 

 

He looked at her for a few moments before continuing, expression pained.

 

 

“I almost hurt you.”

 

“It’s okay. I knew you wouldn’t...”

 

 

It wasn’t exactly true, and she could tell Hakyeon didn’t entirely believe her either. He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss, mimicking her own back when he’d cornered her in his rage. An unspoken apology.

 

Yoojin felt her face grow warm as he leaned back again. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to erase the sadness in his eyes. She pressed herself against him, running her hands down his chest. His eyes widened and looked down at her lips as she moved closer, her fingertips traveling further south, dragging across his tensed abdomen...

 

Then, his hands were tight around her wrists. Flipping her onto her back he leaned over her, holding her down against the mattress. Gaze suddenly narrow and piercing, he glared at her.

 

 

“This isn’t what you want,” he said in a strained voice, and twisted around, throwing the bed sheets from his body. Breathing heavily, he rose from the bed and stalked towards the bathroom. Yoojin heard a faint creak and the spray of water against his bathtub as she sat up. She touched two fingers to her lips, his words echoing through her head.

 

 

  
_‘This isn’t what you want..’_

 

Wasn’t it, though?

 

 

She sighed and climbed out of bed as well, leaving the bedroom and heading downstairs to change. After about forty minutes Hakyeon emerged into the kitchen, and despite the bags under his eyes, his expression more or less had returned to its usual vaguely dark, unreadable norm. She sat at the edge of the counter as per their normal routine while he cooked breakfast, but neither of them spoke until he was done. Setting a plate of eggs and toast in front of her, he gave her a determined look.

 

  
“Yoojin, I’ll be home early today.”

 

  
“Together, we’re going to find Jeon Sungwoo.”

 

 


	16. Eyes On You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanghyuk takes it upon himself to investigate further, and decides to contact someone about Hakyeon and Yoojin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally getting to the second half/climax of this story I think, and tbh I'm so happy I made it even this far; I apologize if I drug things on too long. I spent a lot of the weekend planning out the rest of the plot so I'm excited to start putting all the loose threads together, if that makes sense. Thanks for reading as always-- I love you all! <333
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -None. :)

 

**Eyes On You**

  
  


Sanghyuk ended up leaving the office early Monday afternoon, blaming a ‘stomach ache’ and vaguely worded digestion issues. The way he saw it, he’d shown up early, his boss had already left, and his mind was entirely too preoccupied for him to get any quality work done anyway. Stepping into his small, two-door Kia, he sighed as he drove out of the office building’s parking garage. He leaned his left arm against the car’s window and rubbed his bottom lip in thought, then turned left instead of his usual right onto 17th Street. Twenty minutes later, he found himself parked along the curb opposite of Cha Hakyeon's house. His boss’s black sedan was still parked outside its gates, and Sanghyuk cracked open his windows a centimeter or two before pulling his keys from the ignition. He leaned back in his car seat, looking at the scene in front of him.

 

From all outward appearances, everything seemed to be perfectly normal. The property was well taken care of, as expected of someone like Hakyeon. He frowned to himself and shook his head. What was he expecting-- a dungeon of some sort? Of _course_ everything looked normal.

 

He fidgeted nervously with his phone as he waited first for one hour, and then a second. Finally, as the sun started to set, he started having second thoughts. What if his memory was just playing tricks in him? What if he really _had_ just run into Hakyeon and his cousin in the middle of a serious discussion? Here he was, camped out in front of his _boss’s house_ , like a--

 

 

His train of thought was interrupted as Hakyeon's front door opened. He sat up, suddenly alert, and leaned forward. First his boss stepped out, pausing after a few steps to scan his surroundings. Then, he turned around and seemed to say something over his shoulder.

 

That's when a second figure walked timidly out after him.

 

 

Sanghyuk held his breath and tilted his head, trying to see better through the iron fence surrounding the property. The woman had short hair and bangs instead of the longer, more traditional style of the ‘Hayoon’ he’d met on Saturday, but her stature and mannerisms were identical. As they walked closer and Hakyeon unlocked the gate, holding it open for her to walk through, he noticed she was wearing the same striped top he'd seen her in at the cafe. He ducked back in his seat, heart pounding in his chest as Hakyeon helped the woman into his sedan before walking around to the driver's side.

 

 

Somewhere along the way, he hoped he'd been wrong, but there was no doubt about it. ‘Hayoon’ was Jung Yoojin.

 

 

After Hakyeon's started up his engine and slowly maneuvered out and past him, Sanghyuk shot back up, grabbed his phone, and hovered his thumb over the number he'd saved before leaving the office. He took several deep breaths, steadied his nerves, and then swiped across the green _call_ button.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_“Kim Wonshik!!”_

 

 

The detective winced and moved his phone out a few inches from his ear as Jaehwan’s loud voice came cutting across the connection.

 

“Yeah, yeah-- I’m here… Let me guess, you have another tip for us?”

 

 

 _“Yes, I_ do _actually. And this one’s legit. Really.”_

 

 

Wonshik sighed. He almost regretted ever giving Lee Jaehwan his card. When he’d asked the reporter to send any information the station might gather on their case, he’d assumed the man would somehow _screen_ them first. Instead, the past two days had consisted of Jaehwan calling him over and over again, with any scrap of a tip that got called in. _‘Just in case it’s helpful,’_ as he said in a light tone. Most of them, quite frankly, weren’t. Now, at the end of a long day, he just wasn’t in the mood.

 

“Is it, Jaehwan?” he snapped back into his phone’s receiver. “Or is it another vague recollection from someone who swears he saw something at some convenience store _a year ago_?”

 

Hongbin looked up from his paperwork at his adjacent desk and leaned back to give him a curious look. Wonshik sighed and rolled his eyes.

 

 

_“No-- no, he says he saw her on Saturday, and then again today. But he doesn’t want to talk over the phone. He wants to come in. In person.”_

 

 

Wonshik sat up in his seat. That was different. Promising even. Normally their tip lines were full of either bad, outdated information or people just calling in to swear _‘that neighbor of theirs_ ’ was up to no good, but for someone to want to take the time to talk _in person…_

 

“When. Now?” he asked hopefully, pushing around the paperwork littering his desk with his free hand to find a post-it note and a working pen.

 

“Did he give you a contact number? How does he want to do it?”

 

 

_“Yeah. I didn’t know if you were still at the station so I got his number. He didn’t give me a name though…”_

 

 

“That’s fine, just give it to me, Jaehwan.”

 

 

Wonshik tucked his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he scribbled down the number. Then, after thanking the reporter, hung up and looked over to his partner. He was still leaning back, watching him, and raised his eyebrows in interest.

 

“Hongbin. I think we got something,” he said, a tentative smile edging at his lips.

 

 

* * *

 

 

An hour later the man showed up at the station, and Wonshik led him to his desk after giving him a once over. He was nervous, but handsome and clean-cut, introducing himself as ‘Han Sanghyuk’ after Wonshik had earnestly assured him that his identity would be kept confidential on their way up the elevator.

 

He pulled up a chair for the man from an adjacent workstation and gestured for him to take a seat across from him while he rummaged around for something to write on. Hongbin dragged his chair over to Wonshik’s side of the desk and stepped forward to introduce himself as well.

 

 

“Sanghyuk was it? I’m Detective Lee Hongbin. Thanks for coming in.”

 

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk said quietly as he sat down. Hongbin nodded and followed suit.

 

 

Finally finding a large, yellow notepad, Wonshik turned back around and got straight to the point.

 

“Alright, like I said, everything here is _confidential_ , so don’t worry. Tell me what you saw, and try to be as detailed as possible; don’t leave anything out. Even something you might think is trivial has the possibility to help us out.”

 

Sanghyuk frowned and looked down at his feet for a moment, but when he lifted his head back up Wonshik saw a determined spark in his eyes.

 

 

“It was Saturday. I was out getting a late breakfast with some of my friends,” he frowned for a second as he tried to remember the restaurant’s name before it finally came to him. Wonshik nodded with encouragement and started jotting down some notes as Sanghyuk continued.

 

“...then I noticed my boss, so _of course_ I went over to greet him. He had this girl with him. He said it was his cousin, but…”

 

 

“Go on,” Hongbin said softly, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

 

 

“It was weird. I tried to be polite and introduce myself to her, but he _flipped out_ and left. Then, today I saw an article about that news special that aired the same day… It was _definitely_ her.”

 

He paused again, but Wonshik said nothing, giving him the time he needed until he was ready to continue.

 

“M-my boss has an… _odd way_ about him sometimes. I didn’t think anything of it until now, but after seeing that article... I went to his house this afternoon, and I saw the same girl. Her hair was different, maybe a haircut or a wig, but it was her. When Hakyeon held the gate open for--”

 

Wonshik and Hongbin both looked up with surprise, but it was Hongbin who spoke first.

 

 

“ _Hakyeon?_ ”

 

“Yeah, Hakyeon. My boss’s name is Cha Hakyeon.”

 

 

There was a stunned silence between the trio. Sanghyuk looked between the two detectives with apprehension, and Wonshik felt his face heat up at the realization of what Sanghyuk was saying. This couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be _true_ . All these years… _Hakyeon??_

 

He blinked, caught between conflicting emotions of embarrassment and anger.

 

 

“ _Fuck_ \-- I fucking knew there was something about that guy…” Hongbin finally broke the silence, leaning back and running both of his hands through his hair. Sanghyuk, however, seemed encouraged.

 

“Y-you know him?”

 

“Yeah. We know him,” Wonshik answered dryly, recalling how many times the man had bought him lunch, casually asking him about his work, their progress on the _N_ case…

 

 

It made him sick to his stomach.

 

 

“If you’re sure about this, we need to act on it. Now.” Hongbin said as he settled back down into his seat and crossed his arms, eyes on fire. “But we need to be careful. We need to take them in separately if possible, to avoid a hostage situation.”

 

 

Sanghyuk glanced at him and thought for a moment.

 

“Well, I actually... I’m his assistant at the firm. I have access to his schedule. He’s been rescheduling a lot of appointments lately but he has a long meeting tomorrow morning at the courthouse. It’s something I know he can’t miss…”

 

 

Wonshik looked up and finally turned to make eye contact with his partner. He’d expected to see a certain amount of gloating in his eyes, his feelings about Hakyeon finally undeniably verified. Instead, Hongbin’s face was merely determined. Ready to put an end to the case that had been haunting them _both_ for years.

 

 

“Perfect. We can get an op together by then, right Wonshik?”

 

He nodded, Hongbin’s strong voice making him feel oddly confident.

 

 

 

“Let’s take this bastard down.”

 

 

 

 


	17. Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakyeon takes Yoojin with him as he tries to track down his next target.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not in love with my own two characters... I promise..... Haha anyway, as always thanks for reading <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -None.

 

**Chase  
**

 

 

 

All Monday morning, while Hakyeon was gone, Yoojin felt an nervous apprehension start to knot in her stomach. She tried to read, but the silence of the empty house only seemed to compound the effect, and eventually she turned on the TV just to have _something_ going on in the background. Finally, around two o'clock, Hakyeon returned. She was just heating up a quick meal from his freezer in the microwave, and turned around in relief when she heard his footsteps echoing down the front hallway. He dropped his jacket onto the counter and looked at Yoojin’s dismal lunch.

 

“Do you want some?” she asked, holding out the plastic tray. His eyes narrowed _ever-so-slightly_ at the food in question before slowly traveling up to her face, as if offended by the very question.

 

 

“No, thank you.”

 

 

Yoojin placed the tray back down and started picking through the rice, digging out a piece of chicken here and there. Hakyeon grabbed a small bottle of water from the refrigerator and walked back to stand across the counter, where Yoojin usually sat. He opened the bottle and downed about one third of it, then placed it back on the counter. As she continued her lunch in silence, she felt him watching her.

 

When she finished, she threw the disposable tray and utensils into the trash, then hovered by the edge of the kitchen. Hakyeon was leaning now against the counter on the other side, just finishing off the rest of his water. The TV droned on, behind them both, playing the ending scene of an over-the-top daytime talk show. Finally, Hakyeon turned around and walked over to retrieve the remote.

 

 

“What do you want to watch, Yoojin?”

 

 

She perked up at the question, smiled, and followed him as he took a seat on the couch, gently taking the remote from his hand. Curling up next to him, she flipped through the channels until a slightly dated 90s action movie caught her eye. Hakyeon started to reach for the book next to him, but stopped. He tilted his head towards Yoojin, and instead crossed his legs as he leaned back, watching the film with her. She smiled, and shrugged up against him to rest her head on his shoulder.

 

The movie was mediocre at best, but Yoojin felt a warm comfort at Hakyeon's side. She almost felt her heart drop when the film ended, reluctantly sitting back up and uncrossing her legs. Hakyeon shifted as well, and glanced outside, noticing the lengthening shadows outside the room’s front windows. He stood up, and looked down at Yoojin.

 

 

“We should go soon,” he said, but paused. Thinking.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

 

She shook her head. Her nerves had barely kept down her lunch, and she didn’t want to risk anything further.

 

“No, it’s okay,” she answered with a smile.

 

Yoojin thought she saw the faintest hint of a frown touch his lips.

 

“When we get back, then.” he decided.

 

 

Yoojin nodded, and stood up to follow Hakyeon as he grabbed his phone, keys and wallet, heading for the front door. As he put on his own, much larger pair of shoes, she slipped her feet into her own slightly too small pair of flats. When she looked up, Hakyeon was reaching for the front door, and suddenly it seemed to grow in size, looming taller and taller over her.

 

She gasped involuntarily, and reached out for Hakyeon, grabbing his bare forearm. He turned around, and saw the anxiety in her eyes.

 

“Tonight we’re just... watching,” he said softly, answering a question she hadn’t had the courage to even ask. Nodding, she slowly let go of his arm and stepped back as he opened the door. He walked out into the waning sunlight, and looked around for a moment. Then, he turned back over his shoulder, noticing her hesitation.

 

 

“Come on, Yoojin. It’s okay.”

 

 

She nodded, and she felt her feet able to finally move forward, as if suddenly unchained by the permission in his voice. Tentatively she followed him to his car and hopped in as he held the door open for her. Then, after he walked around to the driver’s side, they drove past a white Kia parked on the opposite side of the street and towards the towards the edge of the neighborhood.

 

  
Yoojin lazily watched the scenery pass her by as they drove, and when Hakyeon slowed down twenty minutes later and smoothly parked between two other vehicles along the side of the road, Yoojin saw they were once again outside of Triple 5 Imports, on the cafe’s side of the street. She looked nervously outside of her window, but as night was quickly falling, the patio was nearly empty. Hakyeon slid his keys out of the ignition and looked across the street at the cigar shop. Yoojin turned around in her seat and did the same.

 

 

They were here to find that man. _Jeon Sungwoo._

 

 

Thought made her heart start to race, but Hakyeon’s strong shoulders as he crossed his arms and sat patiently in his seat calmed her. She curled her legs up onto the car seat and wrapped her arms around them in a comfortable hug.

 

She wasn’t alone in this anymore.

 

_Everything would be okay._

 

 

* * *

 

  
Ninety minutes passed, and they sat in relative silence, but just as Yoojin opened her mouth to say something, _anything_ \-- that’s when she heard it. The same low rumble that used to echo through the warehouse every time Sungwoo showed up. She instinctively tried to shrink into her car seat, eyes widening and breath hitching in her throat. Hakyeon felt her reaction, and snapped his head up, suddenly alert. He looked between her panicked expression and the approaching motorbike.

 

“Yoojin.”

 

She didn’t answer him, totally focused on the man riding the red Hyosung motorcycle pulling up to an empty spot in front of the cigar store. As he dismounted and pulled his helmet off, Yoojin recognized the same bulky stature, the same closely cropped hair, the _same flat nose…_

 

“H-Hakyeon,” she whispered, barely audible, and reached forward, groping for his hand. When she found it, resting on his thigh, she clutched onto it with white knuckles. Hakyeon stiffened for a moment, but after a moment she felt his fingers wrap around hers, soft and warm. It gave her the strength to tear herself back to reality.

 

“ _That’s him,_ ” she said, dragging her eyes from the man as he entered the store and meeting Hakyeon’s gaze. Even in the dark she could see how dilated they were, like a cat suddenly in sight of a mouse. He nodded once and turned back to look out the window, waiting. The man emerged again after a few minutes, stuffing a small plastic bag into his leather jacket. Idling underneath the store’s small awning, he pulled his phone out to type out a quick message, then pocketed it and headed back towards the street.

 

Hakyeon leaned forward, took a photo of the motorcycle's license plate, and then watched as he mounted his bike once again. Then, as Sungwoo started snapping his helmet back over his head and into place, he carefully loosened his hand from Yoojin’s, reaching for his keys. The motion made her jump, but she brought her hand back to wrap around her knees again. Hakyeon started up the car, and after waiting about twenty seconds and checking over his shoulder, made a quick U turn to follow the man as he left the shop.

 

He stayed at least a car length away from Sungwoo as they trailed him, but the motorcycle was easy to follow. Hakyeon said nothing, however Yoojin could see how low he sat in his seat, how focused his eyes were. She felt a strange sense of security.

 

“Oh,” she emoted softly as the man started to made a sudden turn off of the main highway they’d tracked him to. Hakyeon nodded, and swerved to the right as well, nearly cutting off a bus in the process in order to keep up with him. The bus’s breaks squealed, and it’s driver pressed on the horn, a long, piercing tone that shot through the night. Sungwoo, on his bike, looked behind him just before sweeping down the exit ramp.

 

Gritting his teeth, Hakyeon tried to get over one more lane in an attempt to make the exit as well, but a large SUV blocked him in, coming out of his blind spot. He swore under his breath and slowed to let the vehicle pass, but by then it was too late. Yoojin sat in silence as he took the next exit off and circled around the underpass, scanning the roads, but the motorbike was nowhere to be seen. After one last desperate go-around, Hakyeon steered them back onto the highway leading them back home.

 

The streetlights whizzed past them, and Yoojin felt an odd mix of disappointment coupled with relief. She tried to push it all from her mind, however, once Hakyeon finally pulled up in front of his house. Walking from the car back inside, she felt drained, tired… exhausted. Hakyeon seemed to notice, helping steady her with a firm hand on her shoulder as she took her shoes off and placed them next to their usual spot by the door.

 

“Yoojin.”

 

She looked up at him. He reached forward with his free hand and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

 

“I’m sorry. Next time…”

 

Yoojin felt the thin strands holding herself together begin to tear, then break. She collapsed forward, burying her face into Hakyeon’s chest and sobbed loudly as the night’s emotional toll completely overwhelmed her.

 

Hakyeon stood as he was for a few moments before slowly wrapping his arms gently around her shoulders. She clutched at his shirt, and he pulled her shaking frame in, closer, letting her discharge the frustration, anxiety… pain she’d kept bottled up until now.

 

“Yoojin,” he said again once her sobs had quieted. She looked up at him through puffy, bloodshot eyes.

 

 

“Don’t cry.”

 

“Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll find him again.

 

 


	18. Wait For Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakyeon leaves for his meeting, and Wonshik prepares for his role in the operation to take him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things today...
> 
> 1\. I know I only have a few regular readers here, but let me know what you think on this so no one gets blindsided. I honestly only named this fic "After Dark" because it was the song I was listening to at the time, haha. Poor choice. I'm debating on changing it to "Depend on Me" because ~~that song rules omg~~ it's more applicable now that I've got a feel for how I wanted the narrative to go. What do you guys think? Any other suggestions? Let me know.. I don't want to change the title out of nowhere and confuse anyone.. :)
> 
> 2\. These chapters are getting increasingly hard for me to write (I wish I could write about this forever but every story has to have an ending aaah) so I'm sorry updates aren't everyday like they used to be T.T ... but as always thank you for reading and I love you all!! <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -None.

 

**Wait For Me**

 

 

 

The next morning, Yoojin woke up fully clothed in her bed downstairs. She rubbed her eyes, confused for a moment, but then vaguely remembered crying against Hakyeon’s shirt, his arms holding her, then strong arms guiding her down and tucking her in underneath warm blankets. By the bright light that shone through the basement’s small windows as she sat up, she guessed that she’d slept in rather late. After running her fingers through her hair, smoothing out a few tangled knots, she walked upstairs.

 

Hakyeon had already finished eating, and was dressed up for work again in his black suit. He’d kept the rest of their freshly cooked breakfast out, and nodded towards the empty plate sitting on the counter.

 

 

“You didn’t eat dinner last night, Yoojin.”

 

 

She walked forward and sat down, scooping a fair amount of the main dish, rice and assorted sides onto her plate. It was true; her stomach _had_ been growling since she woke up, and Hakyeon had obviously taken the time to go all out this morning with freshly cooked meat and sauteed vegetables. Yoojin looked up to give him a smile in thanks. Adjusting his tie and fixing a button on his sleeve, he walked from the kitchen and around the counter.

 

 

“I have to go to a meeting,” he said, standing awkwardly at her side, close enough that Yoojin could faintly smell his familiar cologne, but too far to touch intimately.

 

“But I’ll be back, and then…”

 

 

She nodded in understanding, and his voice trailed off. He stepped closer and placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.

 

 

“Wait for me.”

 

* * *

 

 

Wonshik rubbed his eyes as he walked into the precinct on Tuesday morning. He’d hardly slept at all last night, still reeling from the shock of Han Sanghyuk’s interview. Still, when his phone’s alarm finally went off, he’d steeled himself, drank two cups of coffee, and headed out with heavy, yet determined weight in his step.

 

 

One way or another, this mess was all going to come to an end.

 

 

When he got to the office, Hongbin was unsurprisingly already there, briefing the last members of their team on the day’s operation.

 

“Hey,” he said in a tired voice, walking up to his desk with his hands in his pockets.

 

Hongbin turned around.

 

 

“Wonshik… good, you’re here.”

 

“Yeah. What’s going on? Everything still on schedule for today?”

 

 

Hongbin took a moment to say a few final words and dismiss the crew in front of him. Then, he turned back to his partner and slowly sat down. Wonshik did the same, with a curious look on his face.

 

 

“...Hongbin. What’s going on?”

 

 

“We-- well, Lt. Park and I thought… maybe it's best if you take the lead on the operation to grab the girl from Hakyeon’s house, instead of being a part of the main task force,” Hongbin started, shifting in his seat. Wonshik crossed his arms across his chest. To be frank, he’d expected this, but he’d been looking forward to taking in the man who’d been lying to him for years, _right in front of his face._

 

 

“Hongbin. Don’t do this…”

 

His partner’s frown deepened, and he crossed his legs.

 

“Look, it was my idea, but it was ultimately Park’s decision. So take it up with her.”

 

 

Wonshik bristled and adjusted the thin gold frames of his glasses upon his nose. The suggestion made sense, since he had somewhat of a personal connection with Hakyeon, but he couldn’t help but feel that Hongbin might need a balancing factor when he approached the man. He’d been so obsessed, so completely _consumed_ by the case over the years; coming face to face with a potential suspect could just be the thing to send him over the edge. The last thing the department needed was a botched arrest, but if Lt. Park had given him the ‘okay’ on the matter…

 

He sighed.

 

 

“Alright. But Hongbin… you have to do this by the book. One hundred percent. You realize that, right?” he answered after a few moments. Hongbin’s face flushed, and he rolled his chair forward, closer to his desk.

 

 

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

 

* * *

 

Two hours later they were ready to go, and Wonshik loaded up the van along with the four other people assigned to retrieve Jung Yoojin from her suspected location. Shoving down the nervous feeling spreading out from the pit of his stomach, he hopped into the driver’s seat and started towards Cha Hakyeon’s house. The team with him was silent, save for a few murmurings. Professional.

 

When they reached his street he slowed, scanning the property and surrounding area as he approached. Hakyeon’s car was gone, so he assumed Sanghyuk’s intel had been right. He pulled up along the opposite side of the street. All that was left was to see if the girl was really inside. After giving a nod to his crew, Wonshik opened the door, stepped out of the van, and headed towards Hakyeon’s front gate. It was locked, but the team quickly took care of it and he walked forward until he was face to face with Hakyeon’s front door.

 

 

He knocked three times, fist striking the wood with a loud **_bang_ **.

 

 

“ _This is SPD, we have a warrant to investigate this property-- OPEN UP!!_ ” he shouted, according to script. As expected, after repeating the request two more times and waiting for a minute, he was still met with silence. He motioned for his colleague to break open the door, and stood aside. Upon entering, he held up his hand in a gesture for the team to stop while he looked around.

 

He was in a short hallway that seemed to lead straight into the house’s main room. It was odd, being here like this. Hakyeon had never invited him to his house before, preferring to meet over coffee or lunch out in public. For a brief moment, he almost felt bad about it, for breaking in this way. As if he was trespassing. What if the tip was wrong? What if this was all for nothing?

 

 

Shaking his head, he waved his hand forward, signalling the crew to clear the property. As they methodically began to go through every room upstairs, Wonshik walked towards the heavy door in the middle of the hallway. It was unlocked, and he opened it.

 

A flight of stairs leading to what he assumed was a basement sprawled out before him. He carefully, tentatively descended down the steps, and was surprised to see an entirely furnished guest room come into view. He continued on and scanned the room.

 

 

That’s when he saw her. Jung Yoojin. A girl curled up, terrified, on the bed in the corner of the room. He tried to put his hands out in a friendly gesture as he approached her, palms forward.

 

 

“J-jung Yoojin? My name is Kim Wonshik, I’m here to help you…”

 

 

She shrank back at his advancement, wrapping her arms around her knees. Echos of the rest of his team shouting “CLEAR!!” as they checked the rest of the house bounced off the basement’s walls.

 

Once he was almost close enough to touch her, he paused, hopeful, but the girl suddenly jumped up in an attempt to run around him. Instinctively, he reached out to grab her.

 

 

“NO--” she screamed, fighting his arms as he pulled her back.

 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to--”

 

“LET ME GO,” she shrieked in a desperate voice, hands clawing at his arms.

 

 

The noise attracted first one, then a second member of his team, and they helped him in restraining her. He gave her face a second look, but there was no mistaking she was the person they’d been looking for.

 

“Jung Yoojin?” he asked again, bowing down to her level.

 

 

“Y-yes but…” she stuttered. Her eyes were wide with the shock of the situation.

 

 

“I’m Detective Kim. We’re here to take you--”

 

Before he could continue she started struggling again, sobbing.

 

 

“I-I don’t want to…. Hakyeon-- _where’s HAKYEON??_ ”

 

 

Wonshik’s hopeful expression dropped as the rest of his team gently, but firmly helped him in guiding the girl up and out of the house. She cried the whole way, grabbing at the walls, anything she could get her hands on along the way. Once she was secured in the back of their van, he slumped back against the driver’s side door and ran his hand through his hair.

 

 

The whole situation felt… _wrong_ somehow. He couldn’t quite place his finger on it.

 

 

Opening the van’s door and sliding inside, he sighed, and hoped that his partner’s side of the operation had fared better. As he started up the engine and started to drive back to the station, he could still hear Yoojin’s sobs, muted behind the van’s steel divide.

 

 


	19. Dynamite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hongbin arrests Hakyeon, but not everything goes according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really debated about how to write this part. Originally I wasn't going to give Hongbin any point of view chapters, but I decided that it would be best if I did for a few key scenes. Also, please bear with the artistic liberties I'm taking on how policework or a case like this would _actually_ be handled... haha. I can reeeally only relate to crime dramas I've seen on TV... As always thanks for reading!  <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Brief violence  
> -Language

 

**Dynamite**

  


Hongbin’s hands were practically twitching as he waited outside the city courthouse, when he heard his phone blip in his pocket. He took a moment to pull it out and swiped his index finger across the screen. It was Sanghyuk, who'd reluctantly agreed to help them out with the operation to take his boss down, if only just to let them know when Hakyeon was on his way to his appointment.

 

 

**< <** **_Han Sanghyuk_ ** _: He just stopped by the office to grab a few files. Should be on his way._ **> >**

 

 

Smiling, he repocketed his phone and tried to calm the adrenaline rocking through his body, making his heart all but leap out of his chest, but it was no use. After all the sleepless nights this man had caused, all the hours pouring over evidence and useless tips, Hongbin revelled in the fact that this moment… _his moment_ , was finally here.

 

 

Finally, he was going to come face to face with N.

 

 

He couldn’t help twisting his face in a slight grimace as he thought about how Hakyeon had been under their nose the entire time. Since the beginning. The man was clearly cunning, and Hongbin tried not to blame his partner for failing to realize what was going on, but he couldn’t help but feel a small resentment towards Wonshik. He’d attempted to tell him over and over again that something was just _off_ about his friend, but Wonshik’s kind nature had kept giving him the benefit of the doubt. Between Jaehwan, Yoojin’s brother, and Wonshik’s relationship with Hakyeon,  whole situation had become, quite honestly, a mess. Hongbin had _just barely_ convinced Lt. Park not to hand the case off to a different set of hands.

 

He’d been in this since the start, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to see it through to the end.

 

 

After about twenty more minutes, Hongbin saw Hakyeon’s trim figure walking from one of the nearby parking garages out towards the courthouse plaza. As he walked up the shallow steps outside of the building, he noticed Hongbin and the men behind him. Hongbin tried his best to hide the smirk across his face at the slight falter in Hakyeon’s step as he suddenly slowed down.

 

Seeming to know that he was there on his behalf, Hakyeon continued up the stairs until he was standing in front of the detective.

 

 

“Lee Hongbin,” he said in a low voice.

 

Hongbin crossed his arms and looked down at him. He was mildly surprised by how tired he looked. Like someone stretched too thin. Torn at the edges and ready to snap.

 

“Cha Hakyeon,” he answered, stepping forward. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to reschedule your appointment this morning.”

 

 

Hakyeon didn’t say anything as Hongbin reached forward to grab the files from his hands. Instead he narrowed his eyes and glared at him with the same inscrutable expression that had unnerved Hongbin the moment he’d met him.

 

“Why is that?” he asked after a moment, watching as Hongbin handed the files over to one of his colleagues to his left before turning to face him. Somewhere in the back of Hongbin’s mind an alarm started to chime, warning him not to engage the man further, telling him to just cuff him, read him his rights, and get him to the station according to protocol.

 

 

He ignored it.

 

 

“We know about Jung Yoojin, Hakyeon. That poor girl… I don’t even want to imagine what a _sick fuck like you_ did to her. Locked up in your house, all alone,” Hongbin grit his teeth together and stepped closer. “We know about the body at the warehouse. We know she saw you.”

 

Hongbin continued forward until he was mere inches from Hakyeon’s face.

 

 

“Right now… maybe _this very moment_ , your friend Wonshik is knocking on your door with a signed warrant in hand. He’s going to get Yoojin out of there, and I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to talk to someone _sane_.”

 

“Give it up. We got you.”

 

 

Hakyeon stared back at Hongbin for a long moment. Then, he smiled.

 

 

On the surface, it was a good natured smile. His eyebrows raised slightly, and he shrugged his shoulders, holding out his hands as if _inviting_ Hongbin to cuff him. But Hongbin watched as his lips twitched slightly, as if he was stifling laughter, and how the look in his eyes suddenly lit to life. Burning with renewed fire.

 

 

“Take me in, search my house… I have nothing to hide, Lee Hongbin,” he said in a light, almost sing-song tone.

 

 

The warning at the back of Hongbin’s mind blared louder, but it was muffled by the sudden rage that overwhelmed him as Hakyeon cocked his head to the side. Before he could stop himself, all of the tension and anger he’d kept locked away for so long exploded like a stick of dynamite, and his fist was flying towards the other man’s face.

 

Hakyeon staggered backwards, but Hongbin kept moving forward. He grabbed him by the lapel of his suit and threw him down against the courthouse’s concrete steps. Moaning and holding his nose, Hakyeon struggled to stand as the officers behind Hongbin rushed forward to hold him back.

 

 

“ _FUCK--_ ” Hongbin shouted, throwing his shoulders around and wrestling himself from their grasp. He snarled at Hakyeon as he rose first to a knee, and then finally to his feet, and motioned for the rest of his crew to cuff him and guide him to their squad car. Just when he moved to join them, he heard his phone blip again.

 

 

**< <** **_Wonshik:_ ** _We’re out. On our way back…_ **> >**

 

 

He ran his hand across his forehead and stuffed the phone back into his pocket, mind reeling with too many emotions to answer.

 

* * *

 

After Wonshik re-entered the precinct, he accompanied a now merely sniffling Yoojin to one of their videotaped interview rooms. She shied away from his touch as he tried to guide her, but ultimately sat down in one of the room’s two chairs. Her face was puffy, a bright pink, and he left for a moment to retrieve a box of tissues and placed them on the steel table in front of her.

 

The girl stared down at her feet, not moving a muscle.

 

 

“I ah-- I’ll be right back,” he ventured softly, but she didn’t respond.

 

 

Wonshik awkwardly nodded back to himself, and quietly walked out of the room. As he made his way towards his desk a commotion at the elevators caught his attention.

 

He stopped in his tracks at the scene.

 

 

Hongbin was escorting a bloody Hakyeon through the precinct’s main floor. He was walking as fast as he could, almost _dragging_ the attorney after him, but none-the-less the damage to his face was evident. Hakyeon was looking down, hair frazzled and matted forward, avoiding eye contact. Wonshik felt that similar feeling in the pit of his stomach once more. That something wasn’t quite _right_.

 

 

“Shit, Hongbin…” he whispered under his breath, but kept his distance as his partner led Hakyeon down a hallway towards another set of interrogation rooms. Hongbin practically threw the man into the last one on the right, and slammed the door shut behind him. Stalking towards their joint desks, he glanced at Wonshik.

 

 

“You got the girl? Yoojin?” he asked roughly.

 

“Yeah…” Wonshik answered, before leaning towards Hongbin and lowering his voice.

 

“What the hell was that, Hongbin?? Please, tell me it wasn’t _you_ who busted his face up like that--”

 

 

His partner shrugged, and moved to sit down in front of his computer. Wonshik chanced a look behind him towards Park’s office. She was on the phone, and presumably had missed Hongbin's entrance.

 

“Has the other half of your team found anything in his house yet?” Hongbin ignored his question and started pulling up a few digital photos of N’s victims over the years, sending them to their joint printer.

 

 

Wonshik frowned and checked his phone again. No new missed calls or messages. He’d told Dongyoung to call him immediately once they’d finished searching Hakyeon’s house for any evidence concerning either the N case or Yoojin, but he had yet to hear from him. It only increased his unease.

 

 

“No,” he muttered as he dropped the phone down onto his desk. Hongbin shot him a piercing look.

 

“No, nothing was found or no, you haven’t heard back yet?”

 

“Dongyoung’s still there, they must be taking their time… don’t want to miss anything,” Wonshik trailed off. A pair of heeled footsteps sounded behind him and he turned around, giving Lt. Park a small nod in greeting as she walked out of her office towards them.

 

 

“Kim. Lee. Update.”

 

 

“Cha’s in custody, I’m about to go in,” Hongbin waved the photos he’d printed in his hand and stood up. Wonshik looked nervously between the two of them, but before he could decide whether to bring up Hakyeon’s condition, Lt. Park had already turned to him, continuing on.

 

“Take someone else in there with you, Hongbin. Understood? Wonshik-- Dr. Seo is on his way up to help you interview Jung Yoojin. Let her take the lead. We need to be _careful_ ,” she said, referring to the department’s on-call Psychologist. Both detectives nodded, and satisfied, she turned and continued past them towards the elevators.

 

 

Wonshik watched her go for a moment and then turned to Hongbin. His expression was unreadable, and he merely murmured a small “Good luck” before grabbing the rest of N’s file and walking back down the hall towards Hakyeon’s room. Then his phone rang. Dongyoung. _Finally_.

 

 

“Talk to me--” he barked into the phone.

 

**< <** _“Kim. Hey, we’re almost done here.”_ **> >**

 

“And?”

 

 

The man on the other end of the line paused, and Wonshik heard him sigh.

 

 

**< <** _“Nothing, man. We’ve almost torn the place entirely apart, and nothing. No blood, no weapon… We scanned that room the girl was in too for any other... bodily fluids. It’s totally clean.”_ **> >**

 

Wonshik felt his heart start to sink. If their only piece of ‘evidence’ was testimony pulled out of a fragile, emotionally damaged human trafficking victim…

 

 

The case would be over before it even began.

 

 

“Keep looking,” he hissed, and ended the call. Shoving his phone in his pocket, he stalked over towards the room he’d placed Yoojin in, and peeked through the small square window.

 

She still sat in the same position he’d left her in, hands in her lap, looking down at her feet.

 

 

He paced back and forth in front of the door, waiting for Dr. Seo.

 

 


	20. Sympathy for the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonshik and Dr. Seo interview Yoojin while Hongbin interrogates Hakyeon, both with mixed results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah-- I've been stressed out about something lately but it's working out since I have a tendency to try to channel that into doing something productive like writing... so here's yet another update haha. I typed a lot of this out on my phone overnight and TRIED to catch all the dumb autocorrections to most of the names in this story that my phone tries to make, but I apologize if any slipped through the tracks. Let me know. Thanks as always for reading and all of your lovely comments <33
> 
> I can't believe this is at 31k words... oh god, haha.
> 
>  
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Language?

 

**Sympathy for the Devil**

  


Wonshik didn’t have to wait long before Dr. Seo Jiwoo was standing in front of him, hand outstretched. She was a smartly dressed woman in her late thirties, wearing thick glasses that framed her round eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a professional updo, and Wonshik vaguely recognized her from seeing her around the precinct over the years. However, this was the first time he’d formally met her.

 

He shook her hand as she greeted him with a nod of her head.

 

 

“Hi. Seo Jiwoo. You must be Detective Kim.”

 

“Kim Wonshik,” he answered, and she looked between him and the door, then down at the file in her arms before speaking up again, getting straight to the point.

 

 

“Alright, her name is Jung Yoojin? I had time to skim her file but you'll have to fill me in on any specifics. How did she react when you brought her in?”

 

Wonshik frowned, remembering how she had run from him, fought him, clawed at his arms only a few hours ago, yelling out for Hakyeon instead. He relayed the story to Dr. Seo.

 

 

“...She was downstairs, in the basement, but didn't want to leave. She was terrified. I _tried_ to be as gentle as possible but…”

 

 

Dr. Seo nodded and waved her hand.

 

“No, no. I'm sure you did the best you could. This type of response is quite normal for cases like this. It's likely that she was more terrified by your suspect's hold on her, any possible retaliation, than by you or your team. But… you said the basement door wasn’t locked?”

 

Wonshik nodded, and the woman frowned. She looked through the door’s window at Yoojin, and Wonshik leaned in to do the same. The girl had shifted in her seat, bringing her knees up to her chest, and was rubbing a tissue across her nose.

 

 

“Alright, let me do most of the talking at first. We don't know what she's been through, but she'll probably respond better to a female presence.”

 

 

“I understand,” Wonshik said, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and reached forward to hold open the door for her.

 

* * *

 

Slowly swiping another tissue underneath her nose, Yoojin hugged her legs closer to her chest with her free hand. Her limbs were still trembling, and she winced at the room's harsh lighting against cold, sickly looking, off-white walls. Finally daring to look around, she noticed the obvious cameras in the room's corners. Fighting to calm the panic threatening to bubble up from the pit of her stomach, she closed her eyes. She tried to imagine Hakyeon opening the room's heavy door, putting his arms around her, guiding her away from this place and back to the warm, comfortable familiarity of his home. He would come find her here, right? Rescue her again?

 

 

The thought eased her nerves.

 

Of _course_ he would. All she had to do was wait...

 

 

Breathing evening out again, she could vaguely tell that after being forcibly grabbed by the swarm of geared up policemen bursting into Hakyeon’s home, she was now at one of the city's main precincts. Yet, she didn't understand _why_. She hadn't wanted to leave, running terrified in an attempt to hide in the basement once the loud banging on the front door interrupted her peaceful morning.

 

What right did they have to do this? And where was _Hakyeon??_ Her heart beat in her chest as she imagined him coming back to an empty house. He'd be so angry, so _upset_ that she was gone…

 

 

She didn't want to make him angry. She didn’t want to upset him.

 

 

Just as she was about to start crying again, the door slowly swung open and she looked up to see a woman wearing a pantsuit and the same tall man with gold rimmed glasses that had first tried to grab her at Hakyeon's house. They entered the room and she tried to shrink back in her chair as they both sat down across from her.

 

“Yoojin, my name is Seo Jiwoo. You can call me Dr. Seo, Ms. Seo, or just Jiwoo; whatever makes you feel the most comfortable, okay?,” the woman said softly. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you want anything to drink?”

 

 

Yoojin thought for a moment before realizing her head ached with a dull throbbing across her temples, the result of crying herself dry.

 

“Um, water maybe,” she answered in a quiet voice. The man nodded and stood up to leave the room, taking care to shut the door gently behind him. Dr. Seo leaned forward and put her elbows on the table in front of her.

 

 

“I know you're probably scared, Yoojin. But you're safe here. How are you feeling?” she asked calmly.

 

 

Yoojin could feel the psychiatrist’s eyes studying her mood and mannerisms. She didn’t like it.

 

 

“I-I want to go home,” she said. The older woman nodded and looked down at her file.

 

“You have an older brother, right? Taekwoon? He's been looking for you. Your family wants you to come home too.”

 

There was a long pause as Wonshik entered the room again with a large paper cup full of cold water and a blue straw. Yoojin nodded faintly in thanks as he placed it in front of her, but didn't look up, avoiding eye contact. Finally, after taking a few sips from the straw and clearing her throat, she continued.

 

 

“No, I want… I want to go back with Hakyeon.”

 

 

She watched as Dr. Seo and the detective next to her exchanged glances.

 

“Yoojin, you don't have to worry about him anymore, you're here now,” the woman said with a slight frown. Yoojin set her cup of water down in the table and wrung her hands together.

 

 

“B-but I _want_ to,” she answered, voice rising to almost a normal tone. “Where is he? Please, I-I want to see _Hakyeon_.”

 

 

The detective leaned over to whisper something to Dr. Seo, and she leaned in, nodding her head before turning back to Yoojin.

 

“Not right now, Yoojin, but what can you tell us about Hakyeon?”

 

“Hakyeon took care of me...”

 

 

“How did you meet him?”

 

 

Yoojin gave the woman a narrow look. An odd feeling started to spread at the back of her mind. Why were they acting like he'd done something _wrong_?

 

“I-I don't remember. I woke up in his house,” she said cautiously.

 

 

“Are you sure? What was the last thing you remember before that? Take your time to think about it.”

 

“No. I don't remember,” Yoojin said again, more firmly this time.”

 

“How long were you at his house, Yoojin? Did he ever tell you you couldn't leave?”

 

“I didn't _want_ to leave.”

 

 

An awkward silence descended upon the room. As Yoojin’s eyes drifted between the two people sitting in front of her, she noticed the detective especially become increasingly uneasy, shifting his weight in his seat. Then, after a few moments, Dr. Seo slid a blank notepad and a pen forward to rest in front of her.

 

 

“Yoojin, Detective Kim and I have to leave for a little bit, but if you remember anything or want to tell me anything else, try to write it down. Okay? Take as long as you need.”

 

Then with a soft smile, the woman grabbed the rest if the paperwork from the desk and followed the larger man from the room.

 

* * *

 

Wonshik felt a strange mixture of sympathy and frustration towards the poor girl curled up in the chair across from them as Dr. Seo softly guided the conversation onto the topic of Hakyeon. When she finally pushed the notepad over towards her before they stood to leave, he sighed. Once the door shut behind them, he turned towards the psychiatrist and ran his fingers through his hair, other hand resting loosely on his hip.

 

 

“ _Please_ tell me that went better than it looked like it did.”

 

Dr. Seo pursed her lips and shook her head.

 

 

“Unfortunately… no. I can't tell if she's just still in shock, or if she's developed an extreme psychological dependence on your suspect. Stockholm Syndrome or something similar. Either way, maybe she needs some time, and sometimes writing things down is easier…” she scratched her chin and cocked her head in thought at Wonshik.

 

 

“Has anyone called her family yet? Her brother?”

 

“Yeah, but we didn't want to release too much information until the situation was... more stable,” Wonshik said.

 

“See if he can come by. It might help.”

 

“Got it.”

 

 

Dr. Seo nodded and turned to head towards the precinct’s break room while Wonshik pulled his phone out to give Taekwoon a call. The man answered immediately, and agreed to come by the station, both relieved and excited. As he walked slowly towards his desk, Lt. Park's sharp voice stopped him in his tracks.

 

 

“ _KIM WONSHIK_. Where’s Lee? Get your partner in my office NOW.” She shouted loudly as she passed him, pointing forward at her office door and turning a few heads in the process.

 

 

Wonshik grimaced and turned around to head down the hallway in order to retrieve Hongbin. He knew he should have said something earlier, but everything was moving so fast, his head was practically spinning. It made him feel unbalanced, like he was being torn in too many different directions.

 

When he reached the interrogation room, he looked through the window. Hakyeon sat cuffed on one side if the table, dark, dried blood plastered across his nose and face, staining his tailored suit. On the other side was Hongbin, hunched forward, eyes hot and intense as he shouted at the attorney. Standing in the corner was a junior officer Wonshik recognized, but couldn't place his face to a name. Knocking once, he opened the door.

 

 

“ _YOU FUCKING LIAR-- I KNOW THAT'S NOT--_ ”

 

 

Hongbin stopped mid sentence as he heard the door open, and looked over to see Wonshik peering inside. He hid a scowl at the interruption. Hakyeon also raised his eyes towards him, and Wonshik suddenly felt cold, like a winter breeze had just whipped past him, chilling him to the bone. His, well - _former_ \- friend’s expression was unrecognizable. The Hakyeon that had once helped him with the law side of his more difficult cases and patiently listened to his dating troubles over lunch had been completely and utterly replaced with _something else._

 

He averted his eyes quickly despite himself, and motioned for Hongbin to join him in the hallway. The man sighed but got up to follow him.

 

 

“ _What_ , Wonshik?” he hissed. For the first time in a long time, Wonshik started to feel angry at his partner.

 

 

“What do you mean, ‘ _what_ '? Hongbin-- I already told you, you need to _get it together_ man. Park obviously found out about… _this_ ,” he said, trying to keep his voice under control and gesturing towards Hakyeon’s damaged nose on the other side of the door. “She wants to see you. Now.”

 

Hongbin crossed his arms over his chest, muttering to himself.

 

“It’s not my fault. You should have _seen_ the way he looked at me. Besides, if you’d just have listened to me back when I--”

 

 

“Is that was this attitude has been about, Hongbin? _Seriously?_ Yeah, I fucked up. It’s fucking embarrassing. But we’re supposed to be on the same team here… besides, who’s the one putting all our hard work in jeopardy _now_?? You should have known better, Binnie.”

 

 

His partner looked up at him wish a surprised look on his face as Wonshik interrupted. It wasn’t often that he snapped like this; normally he was the member of their duo that kept them both grounded. On an even keel. Wonshik saw a pang of remorse slip across his face.

 

 

“Yeah, yeah… you’re right. I’m sorry,” Hongbin apologized in a soft voice, trying and failing to find the right words to describe his frustration and need for closure. “I just…”

 

 

“I know, I know,” Wonshik answered and clapped a hand on his shoulder, guiding him back down the hallway, away from Hakyeon. “Let’s get this over with. But catch me up real quick before we sit down with Park. Is he talking at all? About anything?”

 

“He’s a _lawyer_ , Wonshik, remember? He knows what he’s doing. All he’ll say is that he was out near that warehouse district working on a different case when he found a girl passed out near one of the buildings. He says all he did was try to help her, but she didn’t want him to call the police or anything, so he was letting her stay with him for the time being. It’s a _fucking lie_ , I know it, but…”

 

“What about the supposed case he was working on? Where was he specifically? Can he prove it?”

 

 

Hongbin sneered and shook his head.

 

“ _Of course_ not-- he’s claiming attorney-client confidentiality.”

 

 

Wonshik felt another headache coming on as they approached Lt. Park’s office door. He could almost feel the simmering anger radiating from her as she sat behind her desk, legs crossed and hands folded in front of her as she waited for them to enter.

 

 


	21. Cracks in the Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting with Lt. Park, Wonshik escorts Taekwoon upstairs to see his sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys as always for all your kind comments... It's really motivating me to keep it up as we get closer to the end <333 Also, I'm not quite sure why I decided to pair up Taekwoon and Jaehwan, but I liked the thought of it. Maybe after I'm done I'll write a more light hearted spin-off about them or something... haha.
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Nothing new.

 

**Cracks in the Wall**

 

“Tell me what’s going on.”

 

Lieutenant Park’s voice was calm, but Wonshik could hear the heat underneath her words as they took a seat across from her. Thinking it best to break what little good news they had before the bad, he decided to speak up first.

 

“Our operation to get Jung Yoojin out of the house was a success, but it seems at the moment she’s reluctant to talk. Dr. Seo suggested we call her brother to see if he could be of help. She also thinks that it might just take some time or therapy.”

 

 

Lt. Park tapped her fingers together as she listened.  

 

 

“Time isn’t something we have an abundance of; you know we can’t hold Cha here for longer than twenty-four hours without sufficient evidence to charge him. I can try to apply for thirty-six or forty-eight hours since this is such a serious case, but not without _something_ to go on. Has anything been found at the house?”

 

“...No, ma’am,” Wonshik answered, the disappointment in his voice clear.

 

 

“Keep Dongyoung’s team on it,” she replied, and turned to Hongbin.

 

“Lee. Why is our primary suspect sitting in the interrogation room with a broken nose?”

 

 

Hongbin cleared his throat.

 

 

“He, ah, he provoked me, ma’am. I apologize. I shouldn’t have reacted. But you know how _hard_ we’ve all been working and--”

 

Wonshik shot him a sharp look and Hongbin trailed off, looking down at his lap.

 

“He physically provoked you?” Lt. Park asked. “Or verbally.”

 

 

“...Verbally.”

 

 

Their boss leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again she uncrossed her legs to scoot her office chair forward and placed both of her elbows on the desk.

 

“Okay, _here’s what’s going to happen_ . Hongbin-- you can thank your lucky stars Cha hasn’t filed to sue the department over his injury, and the _moment_ he does, you’re off this case. Do you understand? I’m sending you over to help Dongyoung’s team at the house. Someone impartial will continue his questioning.”

 

 

Hongbin looked up, mildly surprised, but nodded.

 

 

“Wonshik-- keep working with Dr. Seo and Jung Taekwoon once he gets here. I know you’ve been his contact here at the station since this mess began, so I want you to stay on it.”

 

“Understood,” Wonshik answered, and they both rose to their feet as Park’s phone began to ring. She sighed and motioned towards the door.

 

 

“Get to it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Hongbin murmured a vague thank you to Wonshik as they left Lieutenant Park’s office before hanging his head low and heading out towards the elevators to meet up with the team at Hakyeon’s house, but Wonshik could hear the sincerity in his voice. They’d been friends long enough for him to know that the words doubled as a second apology for his earlier actions as well.

 

It lifted his spirits considerably, and he turned around as the phone on his desk rang. He reached for the receiver and recognized the voice of their downstairs secretary.

 

 

 **< <** _“There’s someone down here to see you-- Jung Taekwoon?”_ **> >**

 

“Yeah. Thanks. I’ll be right down”

 

 

Wonshik gave himself a tired sigh as he walked towards the elevator as well and descended down to the building lobby after Hongbin. His last meeting with Taekwoon hadn’t gone well, and he hoped today they’d fare better, for his sister’s sake. Scanning the stations visitors, he recognized Taekwoon’s tall, lanky stature immediately, along with another familiar figure.

 

 

“Wonshik!” Jaehwan yelled in an enthusiastic greeting as the detective approached. Taekwoon whipped around as the other man spoke, walking quickly forward past him.

 

“Jung Taekwoon and...Lee Jaehwan…” Wonshik said tentatively, looking between the two of them curiously before he decided it wasn't any of his business.

 

 

“Don't worry, I'm not here as press, I was just Taekwoon’s ride over, _unless_ you have time for an impromptu statement--”

 

 

Taekwoon shot the man an icy glare and interrupted him as he slowed to a stop in front of Wonshik.

 

“Where is she-- is she okay? _Is she hurt?_ ”

 

 

“Upstairs. Physically she seems fine but…” he trailed off, unsure of how to describe their predicament.

 

 

“...But _what_?” Taekwoon said, voice rising. Wonshik gave him a warning look, raising his eyebrows, and Taekwoon shifted his weight from leg to leg in frustration, but settled back down.

 

 

“We have a social worker working with her already. She can tell you more. Come on.”

 

Taekwoon nodded and muttered something to Jaehwan before leaving him in the lobby to follow the detective past security and into the precinct.

 

 

Wonshik escorted Taekwoon into a waiting elevator and up to the main floor. The man was agitated, shifting back and forth, fingers twitching against his faded blue jeans, but he had grown quiet. Finally, as the elevator dinged and they stepped out, Taekwoon paused, his feet refusing to move further. Wonshik noticed he'd started to walk forward alone and turned around.

 

 

Taekwoon’s eyes were a mix of fear and apprehension.

 

 

“Detective Kim,” he said softly. Wonshik walked back towards him.

 

“It's okay, we’ll take things slow. Your sister’s in a fragile state right now, but she's safe with us. Like I said… Dr. Seo thinks your presence will help.”

 

 

Taekwoon seemed to be encouraged by the statement, and followed Wonshik again as he led him towards his desk. After motioning for him to wait for a moment, he walked over into the floor’s break area and found Dr. Seo at one of the tables, working on some paperwork and nursing a cup of coffee.

 

 

“Dr. Seo, Jung Taekwoon’s here,” he said, clearing his throat. She looked up, nodded, and then grabbed her files. Standing, she walked over to trash the rest of her coffee and then followed Wonshik over towards Taekwoon. After a brief introduction they made their way slowly forward in the direction Yoojin’s room.

 

“Mr. Jung. Nice to meet you, although I’m sorry it has to be under these circumstances,” she said as they walked. “Let me go back in first and talk to her. Now, I know this is going to be emotional, but please, try to be as calm as you can. Your sister may… not react the same way that you do.”

 

 

“Okay,” Taekwoon answered in a soft voice.

 

 

Satisfied, Dr. Seo opened the door and walked in.

 

* * *

 

 

Alone in the room, Yoojin stared at the notepad and pen in front of her. What did they expect her to tell them? She’d already said all she wanted was to go home, back to Hakyeon’s house. Why wouldn’t they let her?

 

She picked up the pen and absent mindedly doodled a few hearts onto the yellow paper. After about forty minutes, the door finally opened again, and Yoojin looked up as Dr. Seo walked into the room. However, instead of taking a seat this time, she hovered by the door after she closed it with a bright expression on her face.

 

 

“Yoojin, there’s someone here to see you.”

 

Yoojin perked up, mirroring Dr. Seo’s optimism. He was here? Already?

 

 

“Hakyeon?” she said in an excited voice. “I can go now?”

 

 

“No,” the woman continued, and Yoojin felt her heart drop. Who else could it be? That officer again? She didn’t want to talk anyone else. She just wanted to see Hakyeon.

 

“It’s your brother, Yoojin. Taekwoon. You remember him, right? He really wants to see you. Is that okay?”

 

 

Yoojin froze at the name. _Taekwoon_ . Here? A few memories began to slip unbidden through small cracks in the wall she’d built up in her mind. A day at the beach, building a sand castle with a boy a few years older than her, holding his hand as he bought her some ice cream. Fighting with him over a TV remote, in her teens now, and angrily yelling ‘ _Taekwoon-oppa!!’_ as he changed the channel from a sappy drama to watch a soccer match instead…

 

 

It was too much. Completely overwhelming. Her mind went blank and her body refused to move. Time seemed to slow down as Dr. Seo mouthed a few more words she couldn’t hear over the sudden buzzing in her ears.

 

Then, she opened the door, and a tall man dressed in jeans and a red t-shirt walked in. He turned slowly towards her, tears beginning to spill from his eyes and a pained smile on his face.

 

 

_Why was he crying?_

 

 

He continued forward cautiously, leaned down, and put his arms around her. Her first instinct was to twitch away from him, but her limbs refused to obey her, instead reaching up to return the gesture. It felt so familiar and foreign at the same time.

 

 

“Yoojin,” he said in a cracking voice, and for some reason, she felt tears forming in her own eyes as well.

 

 


	22. Eye of the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonshik ruminates over the past few days, and Yoojin struggles with her new circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I had to add the gas station joke in... haha. XD But as always thanks so much for reading!! <3
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Nothing new.

 

**Eye of the Storm**

 

Four days later, Wonshik silently stared down at the mountain of paperwork in front of him. It was late, already growing dark outside, but he could tell he’d still be here for another few hours _at least_. Sitting at his own desk next to him, Hongbin was furiously typing away, almost attacking his keyboard in his anger as he frowned at the screen in front of him. Normally, Wonshik would have tried to crack a joke about being careful his next PC upgrade didn’t come out of his own paycheck, but today, quite honestly, he shared his partner’s feelings.

 

Despite tearing Hakyeon’s house practically apart for the better half of two days, they hadn’t found a single scrap of evidence linking the attorney to either the N case, or that he had in fact ‘kidnapped’ Jung Yoojin. Yoojin, on the other hand, even after being reunited with her brother and checked into the hospital for psychiatric evaluation, still refused to talk.

 

 

In the end, although the department had been given an extension of up to forty-eight hours, they’d had to release him.

 

 

The memory still made him shiver, how cold Hakyeon's eyes were, how eerily calm he was as they uncuffed him and gave him back the belongings he’d been arrested with. He hadn’t even asked for compensation for his injuries, something that Hongbin had fretted about non-stop for the entire time.

 

Wonshik would be lying if he didn’t say he’d started sleeping with one eye open and his gun within reach.

 

 

He felt especially bad when he’d been forced to call the poor young man who he assumed by now was Hakyeon’s _former_ assistant, and give him the news. Han Sanghyuk had _flipped out_ on him over the phone, and understandably so. Wonshik assured him that naturally they never brought up his name or his tip about seeing Yoojin at the cafe during Hakyeon’s questioning, but he still recommended that he find a safe place to stay while he and Hongbin looked into providing him with a security detail for the time being.

 

 

Still, they hadn’t given up. Hakyeon’s mannerisms during their questioning had them _all_ , even Lieutenant Park, convinced he was N. The department had already filed for permission to trail him, tap his phone, _anything_ that would help them get the proof they needed to confirm it before he’d have the chance to kill again. He hoped to hear something from the DA by the end of the day. After all, they’d just let the man they’d spent years and countless resources trying to find walk out of the precinct thinking, quite literally, that he’d gotten away with murder.

 

 

“God _damn_ it,” Hongbin cursed under his breath next to him, now leaning over to fight with their aging printer.

 

 

“What’s wrong with it now?” Wonshik asked, leaning back in his chair.

 

“Out of ink,” his partner muttered, finally popping the printer’s top hood open and discarding the empty cartridge. As he opened one of his desk drawers and fished out a fresh one, he rose his voice to a normal tone and changed the subject.

 

 

“Hey, you talked to Dr. Seo again today, yeah?”

 

“Mmm, this morning.” Wonshik grunted in agreement.

 

“How’s it going with the girl over there at the hospital?”

 

 

Wonshik sighed. Hongbin asked him this question periodically every day, though he didn’t really blame him. If only Yoojin would start talking about her time with Hakyeon, they’d have something new to go on.

 

 

“Still the same,” he said, flipping his pen between his fingers.

 

“She’s still asking for Hakyeon?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

 

“God…” Hongbin murmured. “He really did a number on her, huh. How long can they keep her there anyway?”

 

 

Wonshik’s fingers stopped. He hadn’t thought about that. Legally, she _was_ an adult, and Dr. Seo had mentioned that they’d “do _what they could_ for her”...

 

“Shit,” he said, and shifted over to pull his phone from his pocket, scrolling through his recent contacts list and tapping on Dr. Seo's name. The phone rang a few times and he strummed his fingers nervously against his chair’s armrest as he waited, but eventually she picked up.

 

 

**< <** _Hello?_ **> >**

 

“Dr. Seo, it’s Kim Wonshik.”

 

**< <** _Oh-- yes, what can I do for you?_ **> >**

 

“I was wondering… How long is Jung Yoojin expected to stay in the hospital?”

 

**< <** _Well, her mandatory three day observation period ended yesterday, but of course I strongly advised the family that she stay longer, until they find a good either in-patient or out-patient program for me to refer her to._ **> >**

 

“And she was still there this morning?”

 

**< <** _Yes, why?_ **> >**

 

 

Wonshik breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“I just wasn't sure… what the next step for her would be.”

 

 

**< <** _Don't worry about it, Mr. Kim. I know how important she is for your case. I'll keep you updated on any transfers. Now, anything else?_ **> >**

 

“No. That was it. Thank you.”

 

After a few last words he hung up, and looked over at Hongbin's expectant gaze.

 

 

“Well, her mandatory stay is up, but Dr. Seo suggested she stay put for the time being…”

 

 

Hongbin shrugged and turned back to the printer, snapping the hood back down and resetting it once the new cartridge was in place. Wonshik tried to return to his own work, but a nagging thought kept creeping forward from the back of his mind. Unable to concentrate, he picked his phone up again, looked up the hospital's general line, and dialed.

 

When he was finally was connected with guest services, he leaned forward in his chair again.

 

 

“Yes, hello. I'm calling to check on the status of Jung Yoojin? Room 5886-B? Is she still being treated there?”

 

He rolled his eyes as the attendant started rolling off the list of reasons that she couldn't reveal patient information over the phone and tried to interrupt her.

 

 

“No-- no, I know. I'm from Metro PD. Homicide department. She's involved with one of our current cases. I just want to know if she's still _there_. You know, or if she changed rooms or…”

 

“Jung Yoojin,” he repeated after the attendant asked for the name again.

 

 

**< <** _No, I'm sorry it looks like she checked herself out this evening, actually. Just a few minutes ago._ **> >**

 

 

“ _What?!_ ”

 

**< <** _Yes, I'm sorry sir. Anything else?_ **> >**

 

 

“No… thank you.”

 

 

He hung up and slowly brought his phone down from his ear, looking over towards Hongbin.

 

“We have a problem.”

 

* * *

 

 

Yoojin sat up in her hospital bed, leaning over her dinner tray and picking through the lukewarm meal with a pair of disposable chopsticks and a sad frown on her face. The rice was overcooked, and the vegetables rubbery. She knew she'd be reprimanded for not finishing it all, since apparently she was still ‘ _undernourished_ ’ according to the various nurses who rotated in and out of her room night and day, but she didn't care.

 

 

It was nothing like Hakyeon's cooking. She didn't want to eat it.

 

 

“Not hungry? Do you want something else? Let me call the nurse…” Taekwoon said, already rising from the chair next to her bed to hover over her, eyes filled with the same worry that watched her every time he showed up for his daily visit.

 

 

It was suffocating.

 

 

“No, no… it's okay. Please don't,” she tried to interrupt him in a small voice. “I… well… they brought me lunch late because I was taking a nap.”

 

She felt bad about the lie. Her brother had been nothing but attentive since she'd been reunited with him, but it was just too much. Too fast. And no one seemed to understand this. No one seemed to understand _her_.

 

 

The only person who remotely came close was, surprisingly, the complete stranger who came to visit her. Well, apparently they'd met once before, the day Hakyeon took her out to the cafe, but she hadn't quite remembered him due to the rest of the day's events. Still, when Sanghyuk showed up with a bouquet of fresh daisies and a Snickers bar from the vending machine downstairs, content to just _sit_ with her for a while, no prodding questions, no helicoptering over her like she was a cracked porcelain doll…

 

It had been nice.

 

Instead they'd watched a nature documentary together on the small TV mounted on the wall across from her bed in relative silence. Once it was over, he told her a funny, but mildly embarrassing story about the time his college buddies had ditched him at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. She'd cracked a smile and actually _laughed_ , to her surprise, and he grinned as he left afterwards, conscious not to overstay his welcome.

 

 

Taekwoon's phone beeped a few times from inside his pocket as he started to sit back down, bringing her thoughts back to the present.

 

 

“Ah, that's probably Jaehwan,” he said as he pulled out the device from his pocket, and then subsequently nodded. “I'll be back same time tomorrow?”

 

Yoojin gave him a weak smile.

 

“Sure, I'll see you then,” she said in return.

 

 

Her brother walked towards the door, but turned around before opening it, thinking for a moment. Then, he dug his wallet from his back pocket and pulled a few bills out, backtracking to place them gently on the table next to her bed.

 

“Have the nurse get you something better from the cafeteria if you get hungry again, okay Yoojin?”

 

“Okay,” she said softly, and nodded. Taekwoon smiled and touched her shoulder before turning to leave again and closing the door gently behind him.

 

 

She sat for a moment, just savoring the silence. Looking down, she smoothed the edges of her striped top against her lap and smiled, remembering the day Hakyeon brought it home for her. She'd been so happy when yesterday she'd finally been been able to trade her hospital gown for the clothes she'd been brought in wearing. It was a small island of comfort.

 

 

She wondered where Hakyeon was right now, what he was doing. The hospital was so cold and loud… it made her head ache. She craved the calm quiet of Hakyeon's house.

 

 

Suddenly, the thought of one more day listening to a therapist prod her about her feelings towards Hakyeon, one more day of bland, tasteless food, one more day _without his presence at her side…_ was overwhelming. It made her sick to her stomach.

 

She threw aside her tray and ripped the IV from her arm, running towards the toilet behind a curtain at the far corner of her room. Retching up what little food she’d managed down for lunch, she coughed, desperately clutching at the side of the toilet.

 

Dazed and dizzy, she stood up once she'd emptied her stomach and staggered towards the adjacent sink. She washed out her mouth and brushed her teeth. Then, she looked up into the mirror.

 

 

_What was she doing here?_

 

 

She sighed and turned back to walk towards her bed. Just when she was about to surrender and climb back underneath the rough blankets, she saw the money Taekwoon had left her, folded neatly on the bedside table.

 

Surely, that was enough for cab fare…

 

 

Without so much as a second thought, she grabbed the money and walked out. Out of her claustrophobic room, out of the crowded psych ward, and towards the hospital's front desk.

 

"I'm checking myself out," she said in a surprisingly strong voice. The attendant gave her a once over and asked her name and ID number. Once she'd pulled up Yoojin's file she gave her a curious look.

 

 

"It says here that you _should_ \--"

 

 

"I know my mandatory observation period is over. _I'm checking out_." she responded forcefully. The woman frowned deeply but sighed and pulled out a stack of forms from a drawer at her desk.

 

"Sign here, here, and here," she said as she handed them over to Yoojin. Yoojin scribbled her signature and then pushed them back across the desk. The attendant double checked that everything was in order, and then reluctantly nodded as she handed Yoojin back her personal copy of the release form.

 

"That's it, you're all set."

 

 

Yoojin thanked the woman and all but ran through the hospital's front doors. She continued forward until a little way past the hospital's emergency room entrance and down the street, flagging down a taxi. Climbing in, she described Triple 5 Imports, and the cafe across the street.

 

“Yeah, I know the place,” the portly driver said as he pulled away from the curb. “It's not far.”

 

“Good,” Yoojin said in a quiet voice, curling her knees towards her chest. “Head there first, then, I should remember the rest of the way.”

 

 

Her driver nodded, and the cab blended in with the rest of the inbound traffic. She watched the sun set outside of her backseat window.

 

 

_Hakyeon…_

 

_I'm on my way._

 


	23. Closer to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoojin returns to Hakyeon's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so nervous to post this chapter... It was intense to write so I hope it's okay... 
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Sexual content (I personally feel it's still only 'M' rated content but if anyone thinks I need to bump the rating to Explicit please tell me and I'll do so)  
> -Blood, but no violence

 

**Closer to Me**

  


By the time Yoojin’s taxi pulled up in front of Hakyeon’s house, only a sliver of light was left in the sky, bathing the street in a hazy orange glow. She reached forward and shoved her money into the driver’s hand, ignoring his attempt to give her her change as she stepped out. Hakyeon’s car was in front of his house, and her heart skipped a beat.

 

_He’s home._

 

 

However, when she walked to the gate, she paused, slightly taken aback.  It was already unlocked, swinging open as a small breeze blew past her. She walked slowly through, and secured it behind her.

 

 

Odd. Maybe he _wasn’t_ home. It wasn’t like him to forget to lock up. She frowned as she continued up to his front door, and knocked twice.

 

“Hakyeon--! Hakyeon?” she yelled, loud enough that she hoped he might hear, but quiet enough not to disturb any curious neighbors.

 

 

She was met with silence. Desperate, she decided to try the doorknob. As she lowered her hand onto the brass knob, it turned easily, unlocked, but her fingers were also met with a sticky wetness. She stepped back with a sharp inhale and looked down.

 

Her fingers were covered in red.

 

She panicked, pushing the door open and walking inside.

 

 

The house was dark, but even then she could still tell that it was a mess as her eyes began to adjust to the low light. Closing the door carefully after entering, she continued down Hakyeon’s familiar hallway towards the main room. The sight in front of her made her gasp.

 

 

His once painstakingly organized and decorated house seemed torn limb from limb, the remnants of the police’s frantic search just a few days ago, and it seemed he’d done nothing to clean it. His bookcases were empty, their contents strewn across the floor. Half of his kitchen cabinets were still open, pots and pans littering the counter.

 

Then, she looked down and noticed the trail of deep crimson footprints staining his previously pristine hardwood floors. She nudged the toe of her shoe against one of them. It smudged, still fairly fresh. She felt her heart jump in her chest and a sob escape her throat.

 

 

_Hakyeon…_

 

 

She followed the footsteps, frantically climbing over the overturned stools along the kitchen’s bar counter. They continued around the corner and into Hakyeon’s study. Her eyes widened at the smeared bloody handprint along the doorframe.

 

“H-hakyeon!!” she couldn’t help but call out, but as soon as she pushed open the door and rounded into the room her voice seized in her throat.

 

 

His silhouette was dark against the faint light streaming in from his study’s large windows, standing in the middle of the room amongst his desk’s overturned drawers and scattered legal books, but she could see that he was wearing a pair of white slacks and a loose, white shirt. The soft cotton was stained red with blood, dripping down his arms and along the kitchen knife he held in his right hand. But when he looked up at her, eyes dark and wild, he seemed almost like an angel to her.

 

“Yoojin,” he said softly, with a hint of surprise in his voice. “You came back to me…”

 

 

“No one ever comes back.”

 

 

She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

 

“Of course I came back,” she said. “Y-you didn't think I would?”

 

 

He ignored her question, turned towards her and held his hands out, voice cracking with an emotion she’d never thought she’d hear from him.

 

“I did it, Yoojin. I found Jeon Sungwoo. I killed him.”

 

 

“For you. I killed him.”

 

 

She sobbed and walked forward, gently reaching to take the knife from his hand. He let her, just watching as she laid it down on his office chair that had been displaced to her left. She held his hands in hers, interlacing their fingers together, letting the blood on them mar her skin as well.

 

“Hakyeon,” she whispered again, and looked up into his eyes. They looked just as lost, _desperate_ , as her own. In that moment, she felt in her heart that the only person who’d ever truly know her, ever truly _understand_ her, was this man standing bloody and beaten in front of her.

 

 

She leaned forward, up onto her toes, and kissed him.

 

 

It was a different kiss than they’d ever shared previously. Her mouth was hot, _eager_ , and it only took a few moments for Hakyeon to respond back as well. He moved forward, pressing himself against her, backing her up out of the room and stumbling to fall against the hallway wall next to his bedroom door. She slid her hands out from under his and ran them down his chest instead, basking in the warm feeling of his body trapping hers.

 

Breaking their kiss at the same time, Yoojin leaned her head back, and Hakyeon gasped for air. He moved his face forward to follow her own movement backwards, possessively trying to keep his lips only centimeters from hers as they both caught their breath. His hands were braced against the wall on either side of her head. She studied his face and a pang of sadness touched her heart at a closer inspection of his bruised nose.

 

“Yoojin,” he whispered, looking down at her, and she brought her right hand up to brush along the side of his cheek, trying to rub away a small speck of blood that had landed there, marveling at how his long lashes cast dusty shadows against his tanned skin.

 

“Hakyeon. I….”

 

 

“I love you.”

 

 

She said the words in a quiet voice, and his eyes widened. Dilated in shock. For a moment she thought he was going to turn from her, run away-- the look in his eyes that incredibly _heartbreaking_. She brought her other hand up to cup the other side of his face in an attempt to keep him in place.

 

She didn’t want him to go. She needed him. Right here, like this.

 

 

Finally, he conceded, surrendering to her touch. He closed his eyes and leaned down to press his lips against her jawline, then her neck, the tip of his nose brushing lightly against her ear. She sighed and rolled her hips against him. He groaned, burying his face into her shoulder and jerked forward in an instinctive move to keep her pinned against the wall.

 

“Hakyeon,” she said again, fighting to fit her hands between their torsos in an attempt to untuck the bloody shirt from his pants. He let her do so, but once her hands reached up to graze against the bare skin of his stomach, he suddenly grabbed her waist and twisted them around the doorframe into his bedroom, lips pressing hard against hers again.

 

 

Once their clothes lay strewn against the floor at the foot of his bed and their bodies were pressed together underneath his white linen sheets, Hakyeon slowed again. He leaned over her as she traced a finger across his collarbone. She felt so safe like this, just her and Hakyeon. Nothing in between them. His strong arms wrapped around her, shielding her from everything, everything, _everything…_

 

 

When he finally moved against her, she gasped, and he leaned down to murmur vague apologies into her ear.

 

“ _Yoojin..._ ”

 

 

He breathed her name over and over again against her neck, and she fell into his rhythm. Finally, _finally_ she felt the pain, sadness, and shame that haunted her melt away. She entrusted herself to him, fully and completely.

 

 

When it was over, neither of them said anything, but they didn’t need to. Hakyeon pulled her small body tightly against his, and together, they drifted to sleep.

 

 


	24. A Bloody Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonshik gets an unexpected call from Hongbin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the comments on the last chapter guys, I was so nervous when I posted it, haha. It meant a lot to me to see that it was okay <333 I also feel like maybe I should warn everyone that this story will probably be wrapping up by the end of this week. I have most of the rest already written, but I need to make some edits and finishing touches... so stay tuned!
> 
> Chapter specific warnings:  
> -Blood, a corpse etc.  
> -Language?  
> (basically nothing new at this point haha)

 

**A Bloody Mess**

  
  


Wonshik woke up to the sound of his phone ringing loudly on his nightstand. He groaned and turned around, rubbing his eyes as he leaned up on one elbow, checking the time. _3:15 AM_. With a deep sigh he angrily grabbed his phone, wondering who was calling him at this hour, although a part of him already knew.

 

 

Of course. Who else would it be?

 

 

“Wonshik-- _Wonshik!!_ ” Hongbin’s voice boomed loudly across the connection, and he pulled the phone a few inches from his ear.

 

 

“Yeah, yeah, I'm here,” he said, voice laced with irritation. He hadn't gotten in until midnight, and it seemed like only a few minutes ago that he rolled into bed after such a frustrating day at his desk. All he’d wanted was to get a few hours sleep before repeating the same routine tomorrow. Was that _really_ too much to ask for?

 

“What's going on, Hongbin? _Please_ tell me you're not still at the precinct…”

 

“No time,” Hongbin interrupted. “We just got a call about a body. Get down here ASAP or meet us at the scene. Your choice.”

 

 

Wonshik sat up, suddenly wide awake, his head spinning. No way… already?

 

 

It _couldn't_ be.

 

 

“N?” he asked, an anxious edge to his voice.

 

“Maybe, I don't know yet. But… _fuck!!_ Just get over here Wonshik.”

 

 

He grunted in agreement and hung up, shifting out of bed and pulling on whatever wrinkled shirt and slacks were within arm's reach. Grabbing his gun, wallet and badge, he rushed out of his apartment and towards his building’s parking garage.

 

 

As he hopped in his car and checked Hongbin’s message detailing the location of the crime scene, he muttered a series of swears under his breath. In all honesty, he’d expected N - no _Hakyeon_ now - to lie low for quite some time. The man normally only made two, maybe three, kills per year regardless, so why had he killed again just _two days_ after being released? Was he taunting them? Getting some sort of twisted revenge for bringing him in the first place?

 

He searched his mind for an answer as he sped out towards his destination. There was hardly any traffic on the road at his early hour, and the faint glow of the city’s streetlights flew quickly past him on his way.

 

 

When he found an empty parking spot outside of the apartment building that housed the crime scene, he pulled the keys from his ignition and slid out of his SUV. A few other officers were gathered around the buildings foyer and he pulled his badge from his pocket, before noticing Dongyoung waving excitedly at him.

 

 

“Kim Wonshik!! Hongbin's already upstairs. You won't _believe_ this,” he started, eyes wide.

 

Wonshik tilted his head in curiosity. “Why? What's going on?”

 

“It looks like N, but there's fingerprints. Footprints. Evidence. _Everywhere._ Like he didn't even _try_ to hide anything.”

 

 

Wonshik shivered despite himself. This was strange. Unexpected. And serial killers who got away with their crimes for years upon years didn’t do… _unexpected_.

 

 

“Alright, I’m heading up then,” he said with a sharp nod towards Dongyoung and headed into the somewhat grimy building. The elevator shuddered as is rose up to the third floor; the entire place had clearly seen better days. After exiting the elevator and making his way down the hallway towards the door brightly roped off with police tape, he pushed through the small crowd that had gathered outside and ducked into the crime scene.

 

It was one of the most gruesome sights he’d ever seen, so atypical to N’s normal MO. There was no plastic wrapped body and surgically cleaned surroundings. Instead, the entire main room of the small apartment was splattered in blood. The telltale pattern of cast-off from a repeated knife stabbing coating the walls and ceiling. Some of the apartment’s furnishings, namely a lamp and the kitchen table set, were knocked over and broken on the floor, signs of a violent struggle.

 

 

But the body, instead of just one or two precise stab wounds, was _littered_ with them, almost torn apart as it lie in the large puddle of blood. Still, N’s telltale signature was carved across the chest, and there was no mistaking it.

 

Wonshik felt sick, and covered his mouth.

 

 

 _What the_ hell _was going on?_

 

 

He forced his eyes away from the scene in front of him, and looked around for his partner. Hongbin was animatedly talking on the phone in a corner of the room, unsurprisingly still wearing the same clothes Wonshik had seen him in when he’d left the precinct that night. As Wonshik approached, he said a few last words into the phone and hung up, turning to look at him with an excited, almost manic look in his eyes.

 

 

“Wonshik, we fucking _got_ him this time. There’s no fucking way Hakyeon’s getting out of this,” he said, voice shaky.

 

“Give me an update, what do we have?” Wonshik answered with a grimace. The entire place smelled of death. Hongbin, however, grinned with glee.

 

 

“We have a _witness_.”

 

 

Wonshik snapped his wandering eyes back to Hongbin’s face.

 

“What?! Credible?”

 

 

“Yeah,” Hongbin started walking his partner back towards the apartment’s front door, and motioned towards one of their junior officers who was talking to an older, but alert and healthy woman who looked to be in her sixties.

 

“Kim Injung’s getting an official statement right now, but I talked to her earlier. She says she lives down the hall, and was just coming back from dinner with her son and daughter-in-law. When she got off the elevator she saw a man banging loudly on Jeon’s apartment door,” he paused momentarily and motioned towards the victim’s body to clarify who he was referring to. “She said she didn’t think anything of it at the time, since apparently he’s not.. er _wasn’t_.. the most reputable man living in the building and often had unsavory visitors, but she remembered him because he was so much more clean cut than his usual friends.”

 

Hongbin paused again for effect and leaned in.

 

 

“Tall, thin, tanned skin, with a long neck and small features. She said he was wearing a white shirt and slacks.”

 

Wonshik rubbed his hand across his face. The description fit Hakyeon perfectly. He even knew what white slacks she was talking about; every time he'd seen them on Hakyeon when they met up he'd always wondered how he managed to keep them so spotlessly clean.

 

 

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, and then tipped his head up to look around.

 

“Who found the body then?”

 

“The girlfriend,” Hongbin said dismissively, and Wonshik gave him a scalding look.

 

“Get this though,” his partner continued without skipping a beat. “His name is Jeon Sungwoo, and according to our records he’s connected with the last victim…”  Hongbin waved his hands, trying to remember the name.

 

 

“Nam Chiwon,” Wonshik volunteered.

 

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

 

Wonshik rubbed his chin, and looked back at the body. The connection would explain why Hakyeon was killing again so soon-- perhaps he’d meant to kill both of these men at the same time but was interrupted, either by the girl in the shipping container or their investigation. However, it _didn’t_ explain the sudden change in his methods. The carelessness.

 

At this point though, it didn’t matter. A witness, fingerprints… as soon as their lab cleared the evidence they’d be free to arrest Cha Hakyeon again. Wonshik gave Hongbin a worried look.

 

 

“Hongbin,” he started in a cautious tone. “Are you sure… you should be here? How long has it been since you’ve been home?”

 

 

His partner looked sharply up at him.

 

“What are you _trying to say_ , Wonshik?”

 

He balked at the sudden hostility.

 

 

“Hongbin… I’m just--”

 

 

His partners phone rang, interrupting him, and Hongbin waved it in front of his face.

 

“It’s Lieutenant Park. We’re getting this op to take Hakyeon down again up and running as soon as the forensic results come in.”

 

 

Wonshik frowned.

 

 

“Don’t look so down, Wonshik. By dawn, we’re ending this _once and for all_.”

 


	25. Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoojin wakes up the next morning after her night with Hakyeon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These next two updates are the end of this story, and I'm REALLY nervous about it.. haha. Thanks to everyone for reading, and I apologize if the story wasn't as long as anyone wanted or if everyone hates the ending.... Seriously, I'm so nervous that I'll also be posting a few notes about this chapter in particular after the epilogue so please check it out!! <3 Much love.

 

**Remember  
**

  
  


As morning light began to filter through Hakyeon's bedroom windows, Yoojin stirred awake. Adjusting herself along Hakyeon's warm body next to her, she turned around to face him. His head shifted against his pillow but then stilled again, lost to a deep sleep. She resisted the urge to smooth her fingers against the dark, blooming bruises across his face, strangely colorful in the morning light, not wanting to disturb him.

 

For some reason, she felt sad. Like a fleeting moment was passing her by. She brushed her bangs from her face and tried to memorize every detail of the man lying next to her. How his dark silky hair lay soft against his brow, the pleasant tilt of his eyes, how warm his hands felt on her bare skin…

 

 

Suddenly the realization they were both still naked dawned on her and she blushed. On cue, Hakyeon began to move again, this time opening his eyes. Neither of them said anything, but Yoojin smiled and looked down. Hakyeon watched her, and touched his thumb to her lip. Then, he leaned back and looked down at his hand, as if just now noticing the dried blood still caked against his knuckles and smeared along their arms. He gently unwrapped himself from Yoojin with an expression she couldn't quite read, and turned around, sitting up.

 

 

“I… need to clean up,” he said in a quiet, almost apologetic tone.

 

 

Yoojin nodded and rose from the bed as well, wrapping a sheet around her. She averted her eyes out of habit as he walked around the clothes and dresser drawers strewn around his bedroom on his way to the bathroom. Once he'd closed the door and she heard his shower start to run, she relaxed again and ran her hands across the sheets bunched up in her lap before noticing that they too were covered in faint pink streaks.

 

While Hakyeon showered, she got out of bed, fished around Hakyeon's room for one if his button up shirts, and pulled it over her shoulders. After fastening up most of the shirt's small white buttons, she knelt at the foot of the bed and collected her own clothes from the floor. They were a red mess just like everything else Hakyeon had touched last night and she gingerly walked out of his room, towards her basement bathroom, stepping lightly over the footprints still staining the hall and main walkway.

 

 

She chewed her bottom lip nervously. They’d need to do something about that.

 

 

Once downstairs she washed up as well, scrubbing her skin until she was clean. Poking through her own room she threw on some undergarments, a pair of black shorts, and then Hakyeon's shirt once again. Looking in the mirror to comb through her hair with her fingers, she paused, smiling at her reflection.

 

She felt like finally, she recognized herself. The cropped hair and bangs that Hakyeon had helped her cut, the small mark on her neck just above the collar of his shirt…

 

 

This morning, she felt _complete_.

 

 

When she headed back upstairs, Hakyeon seemed to still be in the shower. Not knowing what else to do, she started trying to straighten up his room, gathering up and folding some of the clothes that the police had dumped onto the floor. When Hakyeon emerged from the bathroom dressed in a wrinkled blue shirt and rolled up khakis, he paused, watching her, before walking forward and gently stopping her hand.

 

 

“There's no need for that,” he said shortly, and she looked up.

 

“Oh… I was just--”

 

“Are you hungry, Yoojin?” he asked, interrupting her. She cocked her head to the side in confusion but smiled, and nodded.

 

 

As Yoojin followed him back out towards the mess of his kitchen, she frowned. She watched him as he carelessly shifted through the piles of pans, knives, and other kitchen utensils until he found what he was looking for, and a strange sense of unease washed over her. Carefully, she grabbed one of the toppled stools in the walkway and set it back upright by the counter.

 

Taking a seat, just as she has so many times before, she watched him as he took nearly the entire contents from his refrigerator.

 

 

“What do you want for breakfast?”

 

 

She scanned the pile of food, somewhat taken aback. Hakyeon dislodged a cutting board from between two sautee pans and found one of his spare kitchen knives in the meantime.

 

“Oh, eggs are fine…” she said warily.

 

“An omelette,” Hakyeon decided instead, and went to work chopping up onions, peppers, and a few other ingredients. As he stirred in the eggs and poured the mixture into a large saucepan, she shifted in her seat.

 

 

Something was... _wrong_.

 

 

Still, when he was finished, her stomach was growling, and Hakyeon put the entire portion on a large plate for her. He leaned over and gently placed it in front of her along with freshly cleaned utensils.

 

“W-what about you?” she asked, looking up at him with a worried expression across her face.

 

He gave her a small smile and simply shook his head.

 

 

“It's all for you, Yoojin.”

 

 

“Hakyeon, what’s going--”

 

She stopped mid sentence and looked up over her shoulder towards the front of the house as the faint but utterly distinct sound of sirens drifted into her ears. When she whipped her gaze back towards Hakyeon he was staring back at her, eyes strangely peaceful, but sad.

 

 

Her heart dropped.

 

“Yoojin,” he said, carefully setting the knife in his hand down next to the cutting board.

 

 

“You won't forget me, right?”

 

 

Suddenly, the sirens stopped right outside Hakyeon's front door. Hakyeon rounded the counter’s corner and softly touched her shoulder. She watched him with wide pleading eyes, unable to speak, as if the breath had been knocked out of her.

 

 

“Yoojin.”

 

“I think that… I loved you too.”

 

 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, placing it gently into her hands and closing her fingers back around it tightly. Then, with a crash the front door broke open, and Hakyeon turned to walk down the hallway towards the commotion. She heard a flurry of shouts.

 

 

“ _PUT YOUR HANDS UP-- GET ON THE FLOOR!! STOP MOVING FORWARD!!_

 

A pregnant silence followed before a different, vaguely familiar voice began again.

 

 

“ _HONGBIN-- NO--_ ”

 

 

A single gunshot cut him off, and Yoojin’s heart stopped at the heavy **_thud_ ** that followed.

 

 

No.

 

_No, no, no…_

 

 

Faintly she heard a loud scream pierce through the deafening rush of blood pounding against her ears... before she realized it was _her_. As a rush of armed strangers rushed in, surrounding her again, her vision began to swim, and everything went black.

 

 


	26. Epilogue: Alive

 

**Epilogue: Alive**

 

 

-Six months later-

 

“You… sure you're okay to do this?”

 

Yoojin looked up at the man holding her hand as they headed down the steps in front of Park Institute’s out-patient therapy center. A mildly chilly breeze blew past her, sweeping a pair of leaves in front of her feet, but the morning sun shone brightly above her. All in all, it was a nice day.

 

 

“Sanghyuk,” she said with a smile after a moment. “You heard what Dr. Lee said. Closure… and all that.”

 

She waved her free hand vaguely, and Sanghyuk's eyes crinkled as he smiled back in return, giving her fingers a small squeeze.

 

 

“Okay then. You remember the way?”

 

 

“Yeah. I'll remember,” she answered softly and looked back forward as they approached his car. He opened the passenger side door for her and Yoojin ducked inside. When he walked around, slipped into the driver’s seat, and started up the engine, the radio was on, one of the city’s AM news stations crackling to life.

 

 

_“...with an update on the ongoing scandal plaguing Metro PD, Detective Kim Wonshik is set to testify today on the allegations against his former partner Lee Hong--”_

 

 

Sanghyuk quickly reached over, and instead of changing the channel, flipped off the radio entirely. He gave Yoojin an apologetic glance.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“It’s okay,” she said, shaking her head, and Sanghyuk turned back to guide the white Kia out of the Institute’s parking lot and towards the main highway, outbound.

 

As they drove out of the city, Yoojin thought about the past few months, watching as the scenery passed by outside. Last time she'd taken this drive the trees were still full and green. And…

 

 

_Hakyeon had been next to her._

 

 

She felt a familiar sharp pang against her heart, as she always did when she thought of him, but it was a dull, muted pain now. Like the phantom memory of a broken arm.

 

 

“You need to stop for anything?” Sanghyuk asked, breaking her train of thought as they passed a promising looking exit.

 

“No, I'm fine,” she said, turning back to look at him.

 

 

His light brown hair was combed back, catching the sun just right as it filtered through the car’s lightly tinted windows. It gave him a certain glow.

 

She never quite understood _why_ Han Sanghyuk had taken such an interest in her, first visiting her in the hospital, and then when she transferred to Park Institute’s in-patient program, but she’d slowly began to look forward to his visits. He always brought her either flowers, or something sweet to brighten up her day. He was funny, but not overbearing. He understood her need to just _sit_ with someone sometimes, in silence. In passing she eventually remembered that he’d known Hakyeon too, but he never asked her about him, the way everyone else did. Never brought him up.

 

She felt like he didn’t _need_ to say anything. That through the strange series of events that had transpired earlier in the year, they had an unspoken bond.

 

 

Finally, after a few hours Yoojin recognized the small town Hakyeon had exited for on her first trip to his cabin. She sat up in her seat. Sanghyuk glanced between her reaction and the approaching exit.

 

“This is it?” he asked in a gentle voice.

 

 

“Yeah.”

 

 

He looked behind him before merging over and heading down the exit ramp. Yoojin guided him through the town towards a gravel driveway, the buried memory of her trip here with Hakyeon suddenly becoming crystal clear. In her hand, she ran her fingers across the small key in her hand. Once he turned to face the gate in front of them, Yoojin unlocked her seat belt and stepped out. She jogged over to unlock the gate and held it open as Sanghyuk slowly drove through. Then, not bothering to lock it behind her, she carefully repocketed the key and walked over to jump back into the car before he drove the rest of the way up around the driveway.

 

 

Finally, the cabin came into sight. It was just as Yoojin had remembered it, except somehow even more barren due to the touch of winter upon the property’s now leafless trees.

 

 

When Sanghyuk slowed to a stop, she opened her passenger side door and stepped out. Remembering that Hakyeon had locked the front door, she headed towards the back instead. Feeling Sanghyuk hesitate behind her, she turned around.

 

 

“It’s okay. Come with me?”

 

 

The man nodded, shoving his large hands into the pockets of his overcoat as he followed behind her.

 

She rounded about the structure, and paused briefly when she saw the fire pit at the back of the property. Suddenly, the memory of how she stood next to Hakyeon, bonfire hot against her face, handing him file after file, resurfaced in her mind.

 

 

_It was the first time she’d seen him so vulnerable…_

 

 

Shaking her head, she suppressed the scene and  pressed on, walking up to the cabin’s back door. As she suspected it was unlocked. The door creaked open with a whine of its hinges, and she fumbled against the wall for the light switch. Once the room was illuminated, her eyes drifted towards what she was looking for.

 

 

The cardboard file box in the corner of the room. Just where Hakyeon had left it.

 

 

Sanghyuk hovered by the door while she walked forward, and she felt a small sense of relief in his understanding that while she wanted his presence near her, this in particular she needed to do alone.

 

Kneeling down in front of the box, she gently lifted the leather knife roll and placed it next to her, on her right side. Then, she reached to the bottom of the box and pulled out the last manilla folder Hakyeon hadn't burned the last time she was here.

 

 

The folder labeled ‘N.’

 

 

She took a moment to wipe away the thin layer of dust coating its cover, and opened it.

 

Immediately, a series of news clippings dropped out of the folder and into her lap. They were all dated to late 2011 and early 2012, and featured a young woman in her early twenties. She picked up the longest one, and read the headline, then continued a bit further into the article.

 

 

_“SEARCH ENDS TRAGICALLY FOR MISSING STUDENT”_

 

_“April 12th, 2012. The search for twenty-one year old Cha Hayoon, has tragically ended last night with the discovery of a body on a disused property on the city’s northern outskirts. Cha, a pre-med student at Oh Eunji University is survived by her mother, father, and twin brother, Cha Hakyeon…”_

 

 

Her eyes widened and she looked closer at the picture. The girl’s resemblance to Hakyeon was clear. She put the article aside and started digging further into the folder, faster now. It was full of newspaper clippings detailing the failure of the police’s investigation into the girl’s death, then, frantically written notes and observations in Hakyeon’s own handwriting.

 

Finally, at the bottom, there was a series of blurry photos of a rough looking man with a pockmarked face, walking out of a liquor store, hopping into a dirty pick-up truck, smoking a cigarette…

 

In the last one, he lie shirtless, tied up on a concrete floor, a frightened look on his otherwise hardened face. She noticed he had a number of tattoos, but the most striking one was a large, stylized ‘N’ on the left side of his chest. Looking at the date in the photo’s corner, it matched the one written on the front of the folder.

 

 

 _05/24/2012_.

 

 

“Hakyeon...” she whispered to herself, finally understanding now why he could burn the rest of the files, but not this one. Slowly, reverently, she put the file back together, exactly how it was, and stood up.

 

Sanghyuk stood by the back door, hands still in his pockets, kicking his foot against the floor as he waited.

 

 

“Can you help me with something, Sanghyuk?” she asked walking back towards him and holding the file close against her chest. He looked back up.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Of course. What is it?”

 

 

She opened the door and led him outside to the back of the property, and started dragging a few pieces of the wood still stacked at the house’s base towards the fire pit. Sanghyuk got the idea and did the same. Then, while he grabbed the lighter fluid, she backtracked into the house, searching for a moment until she found Hakyeon’s box of matches.

 

When she returned, she placed the file carefully on top of the stack of firewood. Sanghyuk looked down at her and held out his hand.

 

 

“Want me to do it?”

 

She shook her head.

 

 

With a steady hand, she carefully struck the match and lit the small bonfire. The edges of the folder curled up as they were slowly eaten away by the flames. She stood there, watching, until everything was gone, and only ash remained.

 

 

_‘You won’t forget me, right?’_

 

 

No. Even though she needed this moment, needed to finish mourning this chapter of her life and move on, she knew she'd never forget him. Cha Hakyeon. _N_.

 

 

Once the fire died down to coals and embers, Sanghyuk slipped his hand into hers again.

 

“Ready to go? Want to get some dinner?” he asked.

 

 

She smiled up at him with clear eyes.

 

 

“Yeah...”

 

“I’d like that.”

 

 


	27. **About the ending, and THANK YOU <3

First, I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who read this, left kudos or comments, and supported me along the way. It was my goal to pick up one of my many half-assed ideas and actually _complete_ something this summer… and it’s only mid June!! Special shoutout to Kanha since I still feel bad that you read it the first time I posted this before I deleted it and kind of started over haha... T.T But I appreciate you all <3

 

I love writing but I get shy about having others read it… it’s something I’m trying to get over by writing fanfics to be honest.

 

Secondly, I honestly feel kind of bad about the ending, and I hope I didn’t upset anyone. I know that some of you wanted this story to keep going… and I TOTALLY feel you because I fell in love with these characters. However I love, love, love sad/bittersweet endings... and when I started writing this and planned out the story I didn’t really think of any audience besides myself since I wasn’t sure if I was going to post it up anywhere.

 

I did consider changing the ending, but I ended up deciding that stretching it out or ending it any other way would have been disingenuous and basically, not the story I was challenging myself to write. I also didn’t want to use the ‘major character death’ tag to warn anyone because it would have completely spoiled everything... I wanted Hakyeon’s death to have some impact. Maybe I should have, so once again I’m sorry if I upset anyone… T.T

 

I guess… I kind of wanted the story to just build up more and more at an increasing pace and then end like Hongbin's gunshot, if that makes sense.

 

Anyway, the end of one story is the beginning of another. I do plan to dust off one of my other ideas for VIXX I’ve been sleeping on next (I have some sci fi cyborg idea floating around somewhere)... so if you enjoyed my writing, hopefully I’ll have something new soon <3

 

Thanks again everyone!!

 

-JJ.


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